The Perfect Baker

Chapters

The Rainbow
Painting the House
Sugarcube Corner
The First Day of School
The Voice
The Basement
The Burial
Back Home
Dashie

The Rainbow

Part One

His name was Igneous Rock. A young, strong, healthy stallion with integrity, persistence, and confidence. It was because of these many unique characteristics that this youthful colt would even dare to attempt at such a ridiculous lifestyle. There were many earth ponies in this particular stallion's life that would have him believe that living on a rock farm, was probably not the best-suited location for raising a family, but for Igneous Rock, it was probably the best piece of land you could ever live on. Igneous Rock was not one to surrender when it came to difficult challenges, and certainly, rock farming, at least in his eyes, was a worthy contester for his skills. When he first laid eyes upon the land that would one day become his future home, for both him and his family, he loved everything about it. A great majority of the land was nothing but wide open fields that occasionally had a few dead trees here and there, and prickly tumbleweeds that slowly made their way across the dry ground. The sun rarely, if ever, shined down on the dark and dreary landscape. Even though it was practically always cloudy there, it never really rained much, and due to this, there was not much vegetation growing all around either, but it was because of these many reasons, that Igneous Rock loved it so much because there was only one thing that this kind of land could be used for: rock farming.

As soon as the ambitious Igneous Rock had found his perfect settling place for farmland, he finally decided what he wanted to do with his life. He would meet a pretty young mare to fall in love with, maybe have some children, and live off the land. Now Igneous Rock had purchased the property in his early adulthood and planned on starting a family there, but the only problem with his new home was that it was quite far away from the nearest form of civilization. Now that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, that's exactly what he wanted, but it certainly did make it inconvenient for him when it came to dealing with his loneliness. However, Igneous Rock knew that was the price one had to pay when living out in the deep, rugged, country. Nevertheless, he managed to solve this problem by traveling long distances in order for him to make it to local towns and villages, but once he was there, he could become very sociable.

Now one day, while Igneous Rock was visiting in town purchasing supplies for his farm, he just happened to meet, what he thought to believe, the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria. Her name was Cloudy Quartz, and many ponies claimed that she would steal the hearts of all the stallions that just happened to catch a glimpse of her. Cloudy Quartz was what you would call a "city pony", she used to live in Manehatten with her family, until she turned old enough to move out. Ever since she was a little filly she always wanted to travel Equestria and to see many places that she had never heard nor seen of before. She just happened to be in the local town where Igneous Rock was visiting. They met in line at a vegetable stand, which may have been an odd place for two ponies destined to fall in love to meet, but it happened just like that. Cloudy Quartz just happened to drop some of her vegetables and Igneous Rock helped her pick them back up, and ever since then, they became inseparable. Cloudy Quartz was drawn to Igneous Rock by his great interest in living on a rock farm and living out in the country, she found it very interesting, and while she found the idea of living on a rock farm unpleasant at first, the more time she spent with Igneous Rock, the more she began to like the idea.

So each time they would meet, they grew to like each other more and more. They both shared their likes and dislikes, and how they each grew up, and the kinds of dreams they had, but over time Cloudy Quartz's dream of wanting to travel Equestria, began to fade away and her new dream was to marry Igneous Rock and live on the rock farm with him. So, of course in no time, they were married and they began to start a new life together on Igneous Rock's perfect land.

Now at first, working on the rock farm was fun for the young couple, but as time went on, the constant work of farm life began to weigh on them and they figured out very quickly that rock farming was not all it was cracked up to be. Igneous Rock grew adjusted to his new life quickly, he didn't figure it would be this hard, but he didn't mind too much, but the poor Cloudy Quartz, born in a rich family in Manehatten where you were served day and night, had a hard time going from a "city pony" to a "hard-working farm pony". Carrying rocks everyday on the farm began to put a strain on her back, and she began to ache all over her body, and this concerned Igneous Rock because he realized that his wife would not have enough strength to carry heavy rocks. So, the married couple created a little routine, where Igneous Rock would carry the heaviest rocks, and Cloudy Quartz would carry the little rocks, and they used this working strategy for many years.

When the two ponies married, they knew that they would one day have children, but they never knew when or how many children they would have. Igneous Rock liked the idea of having several sons that would help him with his farm work, and after many years he would eventually leave all the work for his sons, and one day they would take over the farm, so that they could have children of their own, and the property could be passed down from generation to generation. Cloudy Quartz on the other hand wanted some daughters that she could call her own, hoping that they could grow up and find their own true loves and go on to live happy lives. In one way or another, the two did want to have children, so that they could make their family grow.

It was around Spring time when their first child was born. It was a mare. She had an opalish gray mane with a bluish gray coat, and light apple green eyes. They decided to name her Limestone, Limestone Pie. Even though Igneous Rock never said it, he was a little disappointed that it wasn't a colt, but they planned to have more children after Limestone. So before long, Cloudy Quartz once again gave birth to two more fillies, both mares, again. They called them both Maud Pie and Marble Pie.

After Cloudy Quartz had two more daughters, she told her husband that she didn't want to have anymore children, but Igneous Rock insisted that they have another child, just to see if this one would be a colt. Even though Cloudy Quartz didn't want to go through childbirth for a fourth time, she did it to satisfy her husband. After a while, during a hot Summer's day, the child came. To Igneous Rock's dismay, it was not a colt, it was another mare, but she was very different compared to her sisters. She had a light pink coat with a dark pink mane, and baby blue eyes. Seeing as how she looked very different than her other children, Cloudy Quartz wanted to call her Pinkamena Diane Pie. She tried to ask her husband if that was a good name, but he wasn't paying attention to her. Igneous Rock was just staring out the window.

Many years passed by, and the four children, grew to be strong little fillies. They got strong because of all the hard work they did of carrying rocks from field to field over the years. Limestone, Maud, and Marble didn't have much trouble carrying rocks on their backs over the years, but their younger sister, Pinkie Pie, just didn't have the back strength to carry such heavy rocks, even the little ones. So she had to push each rock one by one with her snout, while her sisters carried several rocks on their backs. It certainly made Pinkie feel as if she wasn't capable of impressing her parents by not being able to do this kind of work, but regardless, the young filly tried as hard as she could to build her strength by trying to lift rocks with her back, but it was all to no avail.

Their father, Igneous Rock, was starting to feel the weight of his advancing age, but of course he would try to ignore the pain every time he would lift a heavy boulder, but some days he would be so tired that he didn't want to do any farm work at all, which is why his daughters had to do most of the work. Igneous Rock wanted some strong stallions for sons to take care of the farm, instead he got four daughters. And thus decided to treat his daughters as if they were young colts, by making them do all of the back-breaking labor, while he would sit on the front porch and watch them.

Even though Igneous Rock desired colts for offsprings, he still loved his daughters very much, but most of his attention was directed towards his favorite daughter, Limestone. Limestone Pie most of the time loved to work with rocks and enjoyed living on the rock farm and was dedicated to getting all of the attention that she could possibly get from her father, which she began to gain much pleasure out of doing so. While Limestone was probably one of the best rock farmers there was, she didn't treat her other sisters very well. Most of the time, she boasted to her other sisters about how their father loved her more than he loved them, but this teasing didn't bother Maud or Marble, because they knew better than to take everything their older sister said seriously, but sadly their younger sister didn't quite take it the same way.

Pinkie Pie began to hate the awful things that her older sister would say, and because Limestone's harsh words didn't affect Maud or Marble, most of the teasing was directed at Pinkie, and it was because of this, that Pinkie and Limestone most of the time never got along with each other. Igneous Rock never noticed Limestone teasing Pinkie, and even if he did, he didn't mind because Limestone was, of course, his favorite daughter, and that would sometimes get in the way of trying to show support for Pinkie. Cloudy Quartz, of course, noticed the way Limestone was treating her younger sister and would constantly scold her about it, but this was all to no avail, because Limestone always knew that she could always run to Daddy for support. This whole conflict about Limestone's behavior towards Pinkie, is what sparked a strain in Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz's relationship. Cloudy Quartz complained that Limestone needed to be punished for bullying her younger sister, but Igneous Rock never wanted to hear it, and just wanted to believe that his favorite hard-working daughter could do no wrong. So, it was because of these many problems that tension began to grow in the Pie family, and poor Pinkie Pie was stuck in the middle of it all.

On this one particular day, it was cloudy, just like every day. Pinkie Pie and her sisters were preparing to roll the rocks from the South field to the East field, and of course, her sisters had already carried all of their rocks to the East field before her. Pinkie watched her three older sisters as they walked inside the house to be greeted by their father as he would pat them on the head and congratulate them on their hard work. As Pinkie watched her father, she saw him glimpse at her for just a few seconds, he frowned, and then turned around to walk inside and shut the door behind him. Pinkie wished that she could feel the fatherly love that her sisters got, and she never really understood why her father never praised her after she was done working. She would walk in the room and say "I finished my work Dad." and he would just glance up at her and say "That's good." and just go back to whatever he was doing, as if she had never said anything at all. This would eat away at Pinkie's mind, trying to figure out what she could do to impress her father.

So, Pinkie's mind wandered as she pushed each rock one by one until they each made it to the East field. She couldn't help but get distracted from her work, as she heard the noise going on in the house. It was her mother and father arguing again, and from what she could hear, it was pretty heated. She figured that they were arguing about her, it was almost always about her, if it wasn't, it was probably about Limestone's behavior towards her. Pinkie Pie wished that she could somehow make everything...better.

Pinkie Pie let out a deep sigh, when the sound of an explosion startled the young filly, and a huge gust of wind blew in her face that made her mane and tail frizzle up, all tangled and curly. Different from the hair she was born with, which was very straight. After the gust of wind, the explosion blew all of the dark clouds away and Pinkie Pie could see the blueness of the sky, and when looking up at it, she saw a beautiful batch of colors. It was a rainbow, but Pinkie Pie had no idea what it was or where it came from, all she knew was that it brought her complete joy, and for the first time in a very long while, she was happy. Pinkie Pie suddenly got an idea that she could share this joy with the rest of her family. So she shut herself up all nightlong, planning to surprise her family with something very special.

The next morning came, and the whole family woke up early to be ready to work again. They then heard muffled music coming from the storehouse. The family hadn't seen her all night, and they assumed that she was in there.

"Pinkamena Diane Pie! Is that you?" her mother called to the storehouse. Pinkie Pie swung open the door to the storehouse with great excitement and enthusiasm.

"Mom, I need you and Dad and the sisters to come in here quick!" and with that, she shut the door behind her. Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz gave a look of concern at each other and then went inside the storehouse. The room was decorated with all kinds of party favors, streamers hung from the walls, balloons tied to tables and chairs, with all sorts of different kinds of snacks and beverages laid out. Pinkie Pie then jumped out from behind a table.

"Surprise! You like it? It's called a 'party.'" Pinkie said with a bright smile on her face. Her sisters took delight out of seeing the balloons and other party favors everywhere, even Limestone was somewhat impressed. Her mother let out a small giggle seeing her daughter so happy for once, but her father on the other hand, was not smiling.

"So this is what you've been doing all this time, instead of working?" Her father said as he walked toward her with an angry expression on his face.

"Well, I thought it would be nice, I wanted to make you guys happy." Pinkie said as her smile began to fade away from her face, and she could feel her hair starting to deflate back to being straight.

"Did you ever finish taking your rocks to the East field?"

"W-well...no." Pinkie said, trying to find the right words to say. "You see, there was this beautiful batch of colors that appeared in the sky, and...and it made me feel happy, and I...well..."

"Now you listen to me young lady, when your father asks you to do something, you're supposed to do it! And I asked you to move your share of rocks to the East field, and you didn't! Instead you came in here and did all this nonsense!" after these harsh words, the little pink filly became ashamed of herself, and then hid under the table, so her family wouldn't see her cry. Igneous Rock let out a deep sigh of aggravation and looked at his family that was staring at him.

And without another word, he breathed hard through his nostrils and stomped towards the door and left. Cloudy Quartz became engulfed with anger, and rushed out the door to give Igneous Rock an earful. Limestone gave a stern look at her two other sisters, and looked at the table Pinkie was hiding under. She could hear her youngest sister crying softly and her look of sternness then morphed into an expression of disgust. In a fit of anger she dashed toward the door and was gone in a matter of seconds. It was now just Maud and Marble standing in the room, with their younger sister crying under the table. Maud was the first one to walk over to the table, and she lifted up the table cloth to see Pinkie Pie all curled up.

"Hey, it's okay Pinkie, we liked what you did for us." Maud then poked her head out from under the table, and gave a little head tilt towards the table, gesturing for Marble to speak.

"Yeah Pink, I really liked the decorations." she said as she walked towards the table to peek under the table cloth.

"I just wanted to make everypony happy, that's all." Pinkie said as she wiped away a tear. Maud and Marble looked at each other.

"Well, you made us happy." Maud said. Pinkie's head perked up.

"Yeah, we never had a party before, it looks like a lot of fun." Marble said, trying to cheer her up.

"We could still have our own little, personal party." Maud said with a caring smile. Pinkie crawled out from under the table.

"Okay." she said, as her two sisters hugged her tight.

So the three sisters spent that afternoon in the storehouse having their party. They ate delicious desserts and drank punch. Pinkie made her two sisters smile and laugh, and managed to make them feel happy, and that in return, made Pinkie feel happy. This special piece of happiness that Pinkie felt, caused her to get her cutie mark, but Pinkie was so lost in her joy that she didn't even take notice.

Painting the House

Igneous Rock was still livid at his youngest daughter for neglecting her work, and going off to decorate the storehouse, which he called "a waste of hard labor." However, Pinkie still was determined to impress her father and make up the little "scheme" she pulled that day, by working extra hard. She would push rocks faster now than she would before, still not at the pace her sisters would move their rocks, but it was a start. She would still try to carry rocks on her back, which proved to be most difficult for her, but she still managed to carry little ones on her back.

It took a while for Pinkie to actually notice her new cutie mark, which was three balloons, with two yellow and one blue. She had often wondered when or how it got there, but she soon figured out that it must have been when she had that little party with her two sisters. While Limestone would always try to tease Pinkie over her limited strength to lift rocks, her father's neglect towards her, and several other things that bothered Pinkie whenever they were mentioned, Maud and Marble always tried to support her whenever she was down or just needed some cheering up. Pinkie's mother would try to be there for her youngest daughter as well, but she was always wrapped up in her husband's affairs, that she could barely spend any time with Pinkie. So most of the time, when Pinkie wasn't working, she would be left with her thoughts and imagination for entertainment. Sometimes she would pretend that her father and sister, Limestone, would actually say nice things to her and would play games with her. She would make up their dialogue and make it so that they seemed real nice, but it hurt Pinkie knowing that it wasn't the same way in real life. Her father would continue to be unimpressed, and Limestone would continue to be cruel, but there was one point when she took her cruelty a little too far, and it ended with a major consequence.

It was a late afternoon, and the Pie sisters were painting the house. Igneous Rock got the idea in his head that their house could use a fresh coat of paint. The house used to be white, but over the years it began to fade, and Igneous Rock wanted to repaint it with a new coat of white paint. He left his daughters to their work, while he went back inside to wait for dinner, for Cloudy Quartz had been in the kitchen cooking. Maud and Marble painted a wall of the cottage where there were no windows or doors, and Pinkie and Limestone had the one wall with the front door and two windows. This meant they had to be extra careful when painting to make sure they didn't get any paint on the windows, for their father would be furious if they did.

Pinkie Pie painted the bottom-half of the wall, while Limestone was on the roof of the house painting the top-half. Pinkie and Limestone didn't talk to each other, let alone looked at each other. Pinkie just wanted to get this job done so she could get away from her sister, while Limestone had already finished her part of the job and stood at the top of the cottage staring down at her younger sister.

"Be sure to not get any paint on the windows, Stinkie Pie!" Limestone yelled from up above. "Stinkie Pie" was the nickname she gave her little sister and Pinkie Pie hated it so.

"If you're done painting, then why don't you just go inside and leave me to my work." Pinkie said, not even bothering to look up.

"I would, but I wanna stick around, just in case you make a mistake and I have to report it to Dad." Pinkie began to brush harder.

"You know, I think Dad's been disappointed with you a lot recently." Pinkie began to tense up.

"It must be hard knowing that your such a disappointment in your father's eyes." Pinkie's eyes hardened and she began to shake with fury.

"Oh, are you gonna through a little hissy fit? Oh boy, I'm sure Dad will get a real kick out of that." And with that statement, Limestone literally kicked with her back leg and knocked the can of paint that she had on the roof, and it splattered all over the windows and finally fell on Pinkie's head as it came down, covering her in white paint. Limestone looked down to observe the mess that she had just caused. She climbed down from the ladder and saw the paint splattered all over the windows.

"Wow! You got paint all over the windows. Oh boy, I'm sure Dad will get a real kick out of that." Pinkie mockingly said, as she took the paint bucket off her head. Limestone was just about to ream her little sister out when they both heard the door of the house spring open.

"What's going on out here!" Their father yelled looking at his two daughters stricken with fright. Igneous Rock turned around and observed the catastrophe on the wall.

"Who did this?" he said turning to the two little fillies.

"Why don't you ask Pinkie, she's the one covered in paint."

"It was all her Dad, she knocked that paint bucket over!" Igneous Rock looked at her with a stern face, then turned to Limestone.

"Is that true?" He asked her in a serious tone.

"Of course not Dad, you think I would make a stupid mistake like this? It was your clumsy younger daughter that caused all this mess." Limestone said with a straight face.

"That is such a lie! I didn't do it Dad, I swear!" Pinkie tried to plead.

"I think I've heard enough out of you, young lady. You're grounded. Now go to your room!" Igneous Rock yelled.

"But it wasn't my fault, you've got to believe me!" and after she said that, her father smacked her across the face, causing tears to flow from her eyes.

"That's for talking back, now go to your room, or else!" Pinkie looked at both her sister and her father with a face that couldn't decide whether it was angry or sad, or a mixture of both. She ran away screaming and crying until she came to her room and slammed the door shut behind her. She just wanted to cry in her pillow and stay there for a long time so that she wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore. She knew that this little mishap would result in another argument between her parents and she knew that it wouldn't end pretty. She could hear them from her room upstairs, the muffled screaming, the sounds of things being broken, the whole thing. Pinkie just waited upstairs until the whole thing was over.

Pinkie heard a knock on the door of her room, she must have fallen asleep. The door opened, and it was her mother standing there with agitated eyes, which were probably caused from her crying.

"Hey sweetie, are you okay?" Cloudy Quartz asked. Pinkie just looked down at the floor and didn't give an answer. Her cheek was still sore from the smack that she had received from her father, and it was beginning to bruise. Cloudy Quartz quickly saw this right away, and her face somehow became more grief-stricken than it already was.

"Did he hit you?!" Cloudy Quartz asked, attempting to hold back her tears of rage. Pinkie refused to look directly into her mother's eyes, for she knew that if she did, she would start crying. Instead, she just continued to stare at the floor, and slowly nodded in response. Pinkie then heard her mother take in a deeply agitated breath before speaking.

"I am so, so sorry about this, sweetie. This is not what was supposed to happen..." Cloudy Quartz's voice began to trail off at the end of this statement, as she felt that she would start crying at any moment. Pinkie Pie watched curiously as her mother turned away, so that her youngest daughter wouldn't see the pain in her eyes. Finally, after Cloudy Quartz had taken a moment to compose herself, she turned back to face her daughter. She then pulled Pinkie Pie close to her bosom, and began to gently stroke her perfectly straight, dark pink mane.

"I'm sorry about what happened, and about many other things." Pinkie could hear the sorrow in her mother's voice, and it pained her very much to listen to it.

"I don't know why your sister acts the way she does...but...I think...it might be because of your father. He never really seemed to notice the way she was treating you, and I just wanted you to know, that I've finally decided to do something about it." Pinkie listened intently, as she felt her mother gently stroke her mane lovingly.

"Unfortunately...your father and I...disagreed on what should be done..." Pinkie waited patiently for what her mother would say next, but instead, she felt her mother's grip on her grow tighter, and listened as she began to sniffle. There was a moment of silence, before Cloudy Quartz continued.

"So...so your father and I have...made a decision." Pinkie's head perked up, waiting for what she would say next.

"We're getting a divorce."

Sugarcube Corner

Pinkie Pie hung her head as she rode in the small cart that was taking her to a new life somewhere away from the rock farm. The cart was mostly full of luggage and supplies for the trip. Limestone had fallen asleep by then, and all Pinkie could do was stare at the light blue sky. The cart was being pulled by her mother, strapped to it by a harness. Cloudy Quartz turned her head to look at her youngest daughter staring at the ground with glassy eyes and a very disconsolate face. She sighed and turned her head back to face the muddy road.

Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz had gotten divorced, which caused their family to split in two. Igneous Rock stayed at the rock farm with his two daughters, Maud and Marble, while Cloudy Quartz took Pinkie and Limestone to travel somewhere far away from the farm to live somewhere else. Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz's relationship was slowly deteriorating as time went on and their children noticed it happening. To Cloudy Quartz, Igneous Rock had become a completely different pony from the one that she had first met at the vegetable stand all those years ago. After the children came, he was more stern and serious, and his farm work seemed more important to him than his family, and Cloudy Quartz saw that. She figured that it was because he wanted sons instead of daughters, so he treated his children rough and she didn't like it. And he failed to even notice the fact that his eldest daughter was constantly bullying his youngest daughter; either that or he didn't wish to notice it. But now to Cloudy Quartz, it was just a thing of the past and she was ready to start a new life with her two daughters. She would miss Maud and Marble, of course, but Igneous Rock promised that she would get to see them every now and then.

Cloudy Quartz's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden bump in the road that made the cart jolt, which of course startled her. She looked back at Pinkie again and she still had the same expression on her face.

"Honey, please cheer up, just think about how we'll be able to start a whole new life now, and leave all of those bad memories behind us."

"Yes, and Limestone can tag along just so she can make even more bad ones." Pinkie said, almost mumbling under her breath.

"Pinkamena, I know that your sister can be difficult to get along with, but she's got some pain in her heart too you know." Pinkie perked her head up with interest. "Limestone, she...she always wanted to impress your father, and she never wanted to have any siblings to compete against her. She could tell that her father was dissatisfied that he got a daughter instead of a son, and I think that's been bothering Limestone ever since the day she was born. So, I guess she feels like she has to put you down, so she can gain your father's attention."

Pinkie then had to sit there for a moment to take that all in. She had never really thought of what might have been the reason Limestone was very cruel to her, but even so, she still thought that it wasn't a good reason for Limestone to act that way. But still, Pinkie could sympathize, Igneous Rock and Pinkie were never exactly "close." She was the last child, and that's when it got to Igneous Rock that he wasn't going to have any colts, and because of this, Pinkie was neglected the most by her father, which she thought was completely unfair. Sometimes, Pinkie would wish that she was in Limestone's shoes, and then she would get some attention from her father, but after the divorce, she figured that didn't matter too much anymore.

"Don't worry Pinkamena, you won't have to work on a rock farm anymore. Where we're going, is where your real destiny lies." Cloudy Quartz said with a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. Pinkie just rolled her eyes at the statement and decided to lie down and take a nap.

When Pinkie awoke, she was surprised to find that she was no longer lying in the cart anymore, actually, when she looked around, she had no idea where she was. She was in an open field with many rocks that looked exactly like the ones back on the rock farm, in fact, they WERE the rocks from her old home. She was back at her family's rock farm! In the distance, she saw her old house, and feeling very lonely standing there in the field all by herself, she ran as fast as her little hooves could carry her. When she got to the house she was out of breath, and had to give herself some time to stop panting. She went to open the front door, but it was locked. She looked in through the window, and saw her family inside, her parents, and sisters, Limestone, Maud, and Marble. They were all sitting around the dining table eating their dinner. From what Pinkie could tell they were all laughing and smiling and having a great time. Pinkie knocked on the window. No one inside looked up at the window. Pinkie then tried talking to get there attention.

"Mom! Dad! Could you come open the door for me, please!" They didn't respond. "Mom, Dad! Please let me in!" They didn't respond. Pinkie was now knocking on the window. "Guys come on! This isn't funny! Let me in! Please!" she was now beginning to tear up. She saw her mother and two other sisters go to clean the dishes, she could only see her father and Limestone now. Her father bent down and gave Limestone a warm hug and kissed her on the forehead.

"Dad! Please, it's cold out here! Let me in! It's me, your daughter, Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie screamed as she was now furiously pounding against the window, with tears clouding up her eyesight. "Please Dad, why don't you love me?" she then saw her father and Limestone disappear from her sight and all the lights inside shut off. Pinkie still stood there pounding and screaming. "Please Dad, why won't you let me in!? Why won't you let me in? Why?"

"Wake up, Stinkie Pie!" Pinkie jerked up breathing heavily, it was just a dream. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes to see her older sister staring at her with a sickening grin.

"Come on, Mom wants to show us our new home." Limestone said, as she sprinted away quickly. The cart was parked under a tree that shaded Pinkie from the hot sun. She was still sitting in the cart with all of the luggage still in it. Pinkie jumped down from the cart and stretched her legs. She got a chance to get a good look at the environment, the tree that the cart was shaded under was in the middle of an open field. But beyond that open field was a quiet little village, which fascinated Pinkie because she had spent her whole life on the rock farm and had never gotten a chance to see the rest of Equestria. In the little town, there were cute little cottages, and each one was of different shapes and sizes, and they all gave off a welcoming feeling that relaxed Pinkie. She now began to not be bothered by the fact that she was away from home. She became excited and wondered what kind of cottage they were going to live in. Maybe it would be a really big one, with lots of rooms and a lot of space. Or maybe it would be a little cottage that would make you feel safe and content. Pinkie became so excited to see her new home that she dashed to catch up with her sister.

When she reached the edge of the little town she noticed how many ponies there were, she had never seen so many of them in all her life. She saw many earth ponies, but she already knew about them seeing as how she was one, but the ponies that she was most fascinated by were the ones with horns and wings. She had never seen a Unicorn or a Pegasus and was drawn to them by their abilities. She found it interesting how Unicorns could levitate things and how the Pegasi could fly high up to the sky and be able to touch the clouds that passed. She had learned about them at a young age by her parents, which is how Pinkie learned most things because she had never really been to school before. Pinkie then began to wonder if she had to start attending school now that she was living in a new place. She wondered what it would be like, seeing new fillies that were different from her sisters, and being taught by another pony that wasn't your parents. She figured that she would just have to get used to it. Not only that, but she would have to become more adjusted to this whole new environment, which was to be her new home. Speaking of which, she still wanted to see what their new home looked like.

Pinkie kept trying to follow her sister, but always managed to lose her in a crowd of ponies. Limestone was also faster than Pinkie so that didn't help either. But after going through some crowded market places and turning a few corners here and there, Pinkie finally saw her sister stopped in front of a raggedy, old-looking cottage.

The walls had all kinds of chips and cracks in them, and cobwebs infested every corner of the place. All the windows were smudged and had stains plastered on them. It was clear that the structure used to be colorful, but the colors had faded over a long period of time, and it just made it look dark and gray. At the very top, sitting on the roof of the old structure, was what looked to be a loaf of bread. However, the age of the cottage had gotten to it, and the cardboard and plaster of the advertising symbol was chipping away. This image itself confused Pinkie, and she wondered to herself why anypony would have a decorated loaf of bread on top of their cottage.

Her mother was using a little feather duster in her mouth as she was dusting off cobwebs on the windows. Pinkie walked up beside her sister as they both stared awkwardly at the old cottage.

"Is this our new home?" Pinkie asked, still staring at it.

"Yeah, it stinks. Hey, you'd fit right in, Stinkie Pie." Limestone said in her usual nasty tone of voice. Pinkie managed to let out a small growl before getting interrupted by her mother.

"Isn't it great?" Cloudy Quartz said as she turned towards her daughters waiting for their agreement. Which they responded by looking at the place with confused looks and shrugged. "Okay, I know it looks a bit...rough, but we can fix it up and it'll look like the best bakery in all of Equestria."

"Bakery?" Pinkie asked, confused.

"This used to be the old bakery of Ponyville, that is until it ran out of business. But we will open it back up and call it 'Sugarcube Corner!' Do you like it? I came up with the name myself." Cloudy Quartz said with a cheerful smile.

"Why are we gonna live in a bakery?" Limestone asked, annoyed.

"I said I wanted to give you two a new life away from the rock farm, so I bought this place so that you two could become bakers." Cloudy Quartz said as she reached out to hug her two daughters.

"What if I don't want to be a baker?" Limestone said pulling away from her mother. Cloudy Quartz's cheerful mood suddenly changed very quickly.

"I liked working on the rock farm, I never wanted to leave, and I wanted to stay with Dad, not spend the rest of my life living in a stupid bakery!" With these words, Limestone stomped away very angrily. Cloudy Quartz then ran after her, while Pinkie was left there standing all by herself. She looked up, hesitantly, at the old, decrepit building which stood before her, and for some bizarre reason that she could not explain, Pinkie felt intimidated by it. There was this ominous feeling that seemed to illuminate from within the place itself, and it made Pinkie feel very uncomfortable. And in that moment, Pinkie felt alone. Very alone.

After Limestone was given a chance to calm down, the three opened up the old bakery and saw that the inside was all but impressive. Some of the tables were knocked over and almost everything was covered with dust and cobwebs. The place had a bizarre smell to it that none of them could describe. It seemed as if the place would be impossible to clean, but the family did what they could with what they had. They worked for several hours until Cloudy Quartz noticed that it was getting late.

"I think we're about done now, pretty soon we won't be able to see our own hooves in front of our faces." Cloudy Quartz said as she dropped the broom from her mouth. Pinkie was scrubbing the floor with a scrub brush in her mouth, while Limestone kept herself busy by dusting off the tables. Pinkie looked over at Limestone, and noticed that she looked miserable. She felt bad for Limestone, she couldn't really explain why, but she felt bad for her all the same. It was probably because Pinkie knew that Limestone had basically been torn apart from her loving father. Pinkie wished that she could relate, but she couldn't, because her father had never shown her that much love. Maybe Pinkie could cheer her up, they could play a little game together and have some fun for once. She wouldn't know if Limestone would except her offer, but she had to try. Pinkie dropped her scrub brush and walked over to Limestone who was dusting off the last portion of the table.

"Hey...Limestone, um, I was wondering...if you wanted to play a little game...after we're done working I mean-"

"Listen Stinkie Pie, I don't know what you are trying to pull, but it's not gonna work." Limestone said, quickly turning herself to face her sister. "No, I don't wanna play any dumb games with you." With that, she turned away from her sister and walked upstairs. Cloudy Quartz saw what happened, and went over the Pinkie.

"She'll come around, Pinkamena, she just needs some time, that's all." She said wrapping her arm around Pinkie. They both stood there as they heard Limestone stomping upstairs and then heard a door slam.

After they had finished their work, they decided to retire for the night. The rooms that they stayed in were very comfortable for being very old, of course they had to move all of their belongings into them and fix the rooms a little, but they were satisfactory. Cloudy Quartz proposed that Pinkie and Limestone shared the same room, but of course, Limestone objected to that idea and they ended up getting two separate rooms. This didn't bother Pinkie all that much, because she would rather have a room to herself anyway, so that she could play her imaginary games. Pinkie could really only have fun when she was by herself, just her and her imagination. These imaginary games usually had the setting of a little party for herself, but what's a party without guests? So Pinkie imagined that her father and sister were there with her to attend her party. When she first started playing these imaginary games, Pinkie would just make up the nice things her father and sister would say in her head. Maybe they would compliment on the party, or about how much fun they were having, or maybe they would even tell her how much they loved her. For Pinkie, that was fun. Making up a little environment where the ponies that would barely speak to you, could become your best friends. However, there was always that little creeping feeling in her head that would tell her that all the dialogue she was making up for her father and sister was a lie. Pinkie knew it was true, and that would affect her little game. She would begin to hear all of the awful things that her sister and father would say in her head, and it would drive her mad. The cruel words from her sister, the scolding from her father, it was all being replayed in her head, over and over, just like a broken record, and she couldn't stop it.

Then there would always be something that would snap Pinkie back into reality, and then she would realize that she was just imagining, or was she? Pinkie always thought that when she heard the cruel remarks from her father and sister in her head, they always sounded so real, as if they were really standing there in the room downgrading her. This was usually how most of her imaginary games would end up going. It would start out fun, and then turn into a nightmare with the manipulating sounds of cruelty repeating in her head, which would torture her to no end. These little phases that Pinkie would go through, concerned her and she began to believe that there was something wrong with her. Maybe there was, and maybe there wasn't. But all that Pinkie knew, was that she wouldn't be able to take this cruelty much longer.

Author's Note

Sorry I haven't been working on this story all that much, I've just been busy with school and all. But I'm going to try to write a little more now. I hope you like the story, I know I don't have the best writing skills in the world, but I think it's okay. I just hope you guys enjoy the story, and let me know what you think about it, whether you liked it or disliked it. I'd love to hear your opinions. :)

The First Day of School

Pinkie Pie stood in front of the counter, nervously tapping her hoof against the wood board floor. Her mother was behind the counter stuffing books, pencils, and papers into some saddle bags. Her sister, Limestone, was there too, only she was standing near the front door with her saddle bags already strapped to her back, and she was getting impatient. Pinkie Pie noticed it too, and she was very nervous, not because Limestone was getting impatient, but because today was the first day of school.

"Mom, I'm not sure I'm feeling very well." Pinkie said timidly, as she was beginning to sweat bullets. Cloudy Quartz turned around to see her youngest daughter, shaking like a leaf on a windy day. Limestone was still standing near the opening of the bakery when she gave a long agitated sigh. In any other case, Limestone would have poked fun at the way Pinkie was acting, being afraid of something as simple as going to school, but Limestone was just not in the mood, she was more annoyed at the way her sister was behaving than anything else. Cloudy Quartz finished packing Pinkie's saddlebags, and then walked around the counter to strap them to her back.

"You'll be just fine Pinkamena, there's nothing to be afraid of." Cloudy Quartz said as she stroked Pinkie's straight mane.

"But Mom, I really don't feel well. I feel awful." Cloudy Quartz was beginning to feel worried, but she soon calmed down once she realized that Pinkie was just saying that so she could get out of going to school.

"That's just the butterflies in your stomach talking." Cloudy Quartz said with a cheerful smile, but it didn't appear to calm Pinkie very well.

"Listen Pinkamena, I know you're scared, but you must understand that this is for your own good. I want you and your sister to go to school and get a good education. Not only that, but you'll meet some new friends, doesn't that make you happy?"

"Yes...I suppose." Pinkie said as though she was unsure.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." And with that, she kissed her daughter on the forehead and sent Pinkie and Limestone on there way.

Pinkie kept her eyes to the ground as she and her sister walked beside each other on their way to school. They kept to themselves, because they both knew that one way or another, they would start arguing. In fact, Pinkie practically knew that, by not communicating with each other, they were able to be somewhat civil. This was usually how there relationship went, either they were so angry with each other that they would bicker and fight, or they would just stay silent and not say a word. Sometimes Limestone would not want to be silent, and that meant that she would want to bully Pinkie whether or not she would fight back. But today, Limestone was silent, and Pinkie was glad of that.

As they trotted down the dirt road that lead to the Ponyville Schoolhouse, they got to notice first hand the daily lives of all the ponies in the little village. There would be some ponies that would be rushing to get to someplace important, while there were others that would be just sitting on a bench relaxing. For being such a small village, it was certainly an interesting little place. So many different kinds of ponies, living with each other in complete harmony. Even though the Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasi Ponies had many different ways of living and thriving, they still came together and were able to live peacefully with one another. Pinkie envied them. How could ponies that are so different in so many ways, be able to put their differences aside and be friends, when Pinkie couldn't even be friends with her own sister who grew up in the same house as her? This question ran through Pinkie's mind, she was so frustrated that she couldn't find an answer. She was so lost in her own question that she didn't even hear Limestone talking at first.

"Didn't you hear me Stinkie Pie! I asked you a question." Limestone said staring at her youngest sister with disgust. But Pinkie responded with the same amount of disgust in her voice.

"What?"

"What do you think school will be like?" Limestone's voice was gentler now, and a little more serious. Pinkie was sort of surprised.

"What do I think? Honestly, I don't know what to think, I'm scared." Pinkie said in a timid voice, she wasn't expecting for Limestone to actually ask for her opinion.

"There's no reason to be scared, it's just school. It should be the same as Mom and Dad teaching us, only it won't be Mom and Dad." Limestone's voice started to get soft. "In fact, now that I think about it, I sort of miss the times they would teach to us. I remember that whenever Dad would teach us about History, he would try to change the story, saying that it 'wasn't the way he remembered it.'" Limestone let out a small chuckle, and then sighed. "I miss Dad."

Pinkie didn't really know what to say, she had never seen Limestone expressing her feelings before, it was sort of shocking.

"I'm sorry Limestone...I'm sure it must hurt, being separated from Dad and all." Pinkie then began to feel sorry for Limestone again, she was hoping that they could actually talk to each other and express how they felt. But those hopes went away when she heard her response.

"Whatever, what do you know about how I feel? You were never close to Dad, so don't you try to tell me how much it hurts!" Limestone said with the same disgust in her voice as before, only it sounded almost as though she was trying to hold back tears. Limestone stomped off ahead of her younger sister, and Pinkie followed slowly behind.

When they finally arrived outside of the Ponyville Schoolhouse, the big bell at the top was ringing, announcing that school was about to begin for the little fillies. When the ringing of the school bell finally ceased, all the fillies were seated, awaiting for their teacher. A young mare, with small glasses, walked into the classroom. She was an Earth Pony who had three flowers for a cutie mark. She had her mane rolled up into a bun and she greeted the children with a welcoming smile as she sat at her desk.

"Alright everypony, today is a special day because we will be talking about-" She was saying before she noticed Limestone and Pinkie walk timidly into the classroom. The teacher adjusted her glasses as she looked at them.

"Well, it appears that we have two new students," She rose from her desk and walked over to them. "Who might you young ladies be?" There was a short pause before Limestone decided to be the one to answer the question.

"I'm Limestone Pie, and this is Pinkie Pie, we just moved into the village." Limestone said awkwardly.

"Oh, you two wouldn't happened to be the daughters of the mare that bought the old bakery, are you?"

"Uh...yes...we are." Pinkie said, finally managing to force something out of her mouth.

"Oh! Well you two are going to love it here! Ponyville is a wonderful place, you know. Now please, won't you join us in class?" The young mare said as she walked back to her desk.

"That's kinda the reason we came here." Limestone said under her breath, in her usual bitter tone. She took a seat at the front, while Pinkie took a seat in the back. The young mare then began to start her lesson, but Pinkie wasn't really paying attention. The lesson was about cutie marks and Mom and Dad had already taught Pinkie Pie all about those and what they meant, so Pinkie didn't really want to hear it all a second time. Her eyes began to wander as she studied her classmates. There were some Unicorn and Pegasus fillies, but most of them were Earth ponies. She looked at the filly who was seated right next to her, she was an Earth Pony. She had a long blonde mane that was all ruffled up, her coat was orange and she had freckles on her face. She had three apples for her cutie mark. The young filly saw Pinkie looking at her and she spoke.

"Howdy." The young filly whispered, trying not to be heard by the Teacher.

"Hi..." Pinkie said trying to put a smile on her face.

"You're the new girl, right?" The young filly whispered with a big smile across her face.

"Yeah..."

"My name's Applejack, what's yours?"

"I'm Pinkie Pie. I just moved into the village."

"Yeah, I heard. Nice to meet ya." Applejack almost reached over to shake Pinkie's hoof, but she stopped, realizing that it might catch the Teacher's attention. "So ya just movin' in huh Sugarcube?" Applejack said still whispering.

"Yeah, me and my sister, Limestone, came from a rock farm. My Mom bought this old bakery and she wants us to become bakers and start a new life here in Ponyvi-" Pinkie Pie was suddenly cut off by the Teacher's voice.

"Pinkie Pie! Please stop talking, I know you want to make new friends, but please pay attention to the lesson." The whole class giggled. Pinkie started to blush.

"I'm sorry..." Pinkie said back in her timid tone of voice. The Teacher then began to resume her lesson, when Applejack leaned over and whispered.

"Don't worry, we'll talk later." Pinkie was surprised when she found herself chatting with this new filly, Applejack. It felt very nice, being able to talk to somepony who was interested in what you wanted to say. Unlike with your sister who tried to downgrade you every time you opened your mouth. She wasn't used to such kindness.

After class was over, the fillies were let out of the schoolhouse. Pinkie Pie and Applejack walked with each other chatting. Pinkie Pie told Applejack about how she was raised on a rock farm, and the difficult relationships that she had with her father and sister. She also told her about how she came to move to her new home in Ponyville.

"I'm mighty sorry to hear about that Sugarcube. Trust me, I know what it's like to deal with siblings."

"You do?" Pinkie asked, curiously.

"You betcha! In fact, me and my big brother got into a little spat the other day about who's turn it was to buck the apple trees in the South field." After saying this Applejack let out a small laugh.

"Well, I just wish that me and Limestone could just get along with each other, instead of fighting all the time." Pinkie Pie said as she let out a deep sigh, nudging the ground with her hoof.

"Hey now, don't worry about it Sugarcube, things will come around, I promise." Applejack said as she gave Pinkie Pie a comforting hug. In that moment, Pinkie felt happy, which was a feeling that she had long forgotten about.

"Well, I better go. Gotta get back to the farm or else my Granny Smith will ream me out. I'll see ya later!" Applejack said as she raced off in the other direction until she was out of sight. Pinkie stood there for a while feeling something that she had almost forgotten about: happiness. Pinkie was glad, she found a friend. A real friend. For the first time in a long time, Pinkie let out a smile.

The Voice

Several weeks had passed since Cloudy Quartz and her two daughters moved into Ponyville. Pinkie Pie and Limestone were slowly but surely, adapting to their new life. Cloudy Quartz started the bakery business right away, and at first it was a slow start. Cloudy Quartz did most of the baking at first. Back when she lived in Manehatten as a young filly, she learned how to cook and bake, she was a natural. Her parents would always praise their daughter for her excellent cooking skills, and they hoped that she would go on to become a famous baker or chef one day, but all that changed when Cloudy Quartz decided to live a life with Igneous Rock on the rock farm. But that didn't matter anymore, to Cloudy Quartz, it was just a thing of the past, right now she was looking towards the future. The future for herself, and her daughters. Cloudy Quartz would strive to get her daughters to learn how to bake, so that they would go on to do the things she didn't. In fact, she also didn't want them to make the same mistake that she had made. She didn't want them to stray away from their dreams, just so they could go marry a good-for-nothing stallion. Cloudy Quartz didn't always feel this way. Back when she lived on the rock farm, she actually wanted all of her daughters to go find their own true loves, so that they could live happily ever after, the same way she did. Oh, but she didn't live happily ever after did she? Instead she ended up having her family torn apart, all because of that old stallion that she married, and how he refused to recognize the abuse that was going on between his two daughters! No, she didn't want that for Pinkie and Limestone. So she made a promise to herself that she would teach them how to bake, so that they could have successful careers, and not have to worry about stallions. Yes, that was exactly what she was going to do. And that is the reason why problems started to rise in the household.

Pinkie Pie found it very hard learning how to bake. Cloudy Quartz started teaching Pinkie and Limestone all there was to be known about baking, which of course they knew practically nothing about. First they had to learn how to prepare the dough. Limestone at first found this troubling, but with practice, she learned how to get the hang of it, but Pinkie on the other hand was a lost cause. She could never mix the ingredients right, the dough would always come out with a weird texture to it, and this was the number one source to Pinkie's problem, measuring and mixing. No matter how many times Pinkie tried, her dough would always have the same result. While Limestone went on to actually master dough making, and started baking rolls of bread, Pinkie was still stuck when it came to preparing the dough. It frustrated Pinkie to no end. Why did Limestone have to be so perfect? It wouldn't be as bad if her mother wasn't so negative about it. Pinkie noticed how her mother would praise Limestone for her new batch of newly baked rolls, then she would scold Pinkie about not getting the texture of the dough right. Her mother got so frustrated with Pinkie, that it was hard for Pinkie to actually learn anything, and she wasn't able to improve. And it was because of the fact that Cloudy Quartz wanted her daughters to become highly skilled bakers so badly, that she would get so riled up when Pinkie wouldn't improve.

This went on for weeks, no improvement, only scolding. While the exact opposite happened to Limestone, always improvement, always praising. One day, Pinkie got so angry with not being able to get the praise that Limestone was receiving, that she kicked the huge bag of flour that was on the kitchen counter and it spilled all over the floor and made a huge mess. At first it felt good to let all of that anger out, but that feeling went away quickly when she saw her mother walk into the kitchen to see the catastrophe on the floor.

"Pinkamena Diane Pie! What is the meaning of this mess!"

"Well, you see...I got so angry that I-" Pinkie was saying before being cut off by her mother.

"What were you thinking, making a huge mess like this!? How do you expect to be a perfect baker one day, if you don't start acting like one?" Pinkie had nothing to say, all she could think about was trying to hold back her own tears. Actually, why should she start crying? She never asked for this. She never asked to become a baker. Why should she have to follow her mother's dreams?

"What if I don't want to be a baker?" Pinkie said, at first hesitating.

"Excuse me?" Cloudy Quartz turned around to look at her.

"I never asked to be a baker. You forced me to do this. I don't want to live your dreams Mom! I want to live my own dreams!" Pinkie didn't want to cry, but she couldn't help it when the tears started flowing from her eyes. Cloudy Quartz was stunned for a second, and then finally spoke.

"I have to go to the market to get some supplies, Limestone is coming with me, so you'll be by yourself." Pinkie was confused.

"Have this place cleaned up by the time I get back here." And with that she was out the kitchen door. Pinkie sat down in the powdered whiteness around her, as she heard the front door to the store close.

Pinkie had to mop the floor to the kitchen to get the powdery flour out. She had been at it for about an hour or so. She had a chance to calm down and think about the things she said. Maybe she had overreacted, but it was so frustrating that Limestone got more of the attention than her. It was the exact same as it was when they lived on the farm, nothing had changed. Pinkie Pie couldn't understand it. No matter what she did, she would always do something wrong. She was neglected by her father, teased by her sister, and now she was being scolded by her mother just because she didn't know how to bake. It was because of Limestone that she was having all of these problems. If she wasn't so perfect, Pinkie could have been accepted for who she was, but instead her parents try to constantly compare her with her sister. They wanted her to be exactly like her sister. Well she wasn't her sister, she was Pinkie Pie, and that should have been enough for them. Besides, why would she want to be like Limestone? A pathetic bully who constantly has to downgrade her siblings just to make herself seem more superior.

Then Pinkie started to remember the mocking. She could hear her sister's degrading words, being pounded in her ears. It was almost as if Limestone was standing right next to her, filling her ears with insults. It sounded so real, it sounded as though Limestone was actually talking to her. But she couldn't be, she was with Mom at the market. But that didn't stop Pinkie from hearing her, she could hear the insults as clear as day.

"Well, well, Stinkie Pie, looks like you've really gotten yourself into a pickle this time. Can't say I'm surprised though."

Pinkie then became frightened. Where was her voice coming from? Was she imagining all of this? No, she couldn't be, she could hear her as clear as day. She had come back to taunt her, just like she always did.

"Just look at yourself, you've failed again. Looks like I wasn't the one to cause the mess this time. You can't blame it on me. You've got no one to blame but yourself."

Pinkie could now feel the anger growing inside of her. She wanted to shout out at her that she was wrong. But she couldn't, because she knew that Limestone was right. There really was no one to blame but herself. And she had to admit it. But hearing it from Limestone, made it worse.

"Why don't you just go away! Just leave me alone! What did I ever do to make you hate me so much? I never wanted to fight with you, I always wanted to be friends with you. But you always have to insult me and act as if I don't even matter to you!"

"Is that so? Well, did it ever occur to you that maybe it's because you actually DON'T matter to me?"

Pinkie was shocked. She never thought that Limestone actually meant it.

"I mean think about it. Ask yourself, why do I treat you the way I do? Do you want to know why? It's because you're weak. And you'll always be weak. Why, if I didn't downgrade you, you would constantly be trying to compete against me. But because my insults get under your skin, you are unable to fight back. And that's exactly what I want."

Pinkie Pie was terrified now, she had never heard anything like this from her own sister before. She didn't think that she could be this cruel.

"I'll admit, I've always wondered why you never tried to disprove me before. If you believe that what I say about you is false, then you should prove that I'm wrong. Oh, but wait, I know why you don't try to fight back. Because really, you know that deep down, what I say about you is true. You really are weak and pathetic. And you refuse to prove otherwise because you know that I am right."

It was almost as if her sister knew all along what Pinkie thought about herself. There were many times when she would tell herself that she was too weak to carry those rocks. Too pathetic to think that a party could solve family issues. Too weak to stand up for herself. Too pathetic to become a baker.

"Yes, I can tell now that you have finally excepted the truth. I was right about you all along. You can try as hard as you can to succeed, and you'll still be the same. Do you feel like crying now? Go ahead, bring forth those weak and pathetic tears, it will only prove my point."

Soon enough, Pinkie did start crying, she laid down on the floor sobbing. Her tears fell from her cheeks to the ground as they were absorbed by the remaining flour on the kitchen floor.

"I knew you couldn't hold it in any longer. You're so predictable. This is why you will never succeed, you will only falter and fail, again, and again, and again. This is why Mom thinks you're useless! This is why Dad never accepted you! This is why our family fell apart! This is why you'll never be a perfect baker."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!!" Pinkie Pie finally screamed at the top of her voice so loud that when she was finished, her throat felt sore. And with that outburst of hers, it was gone. The voice was gone. The voice of her sister had finally ceased. This puzzled Pinkie to a great length, what happened? Where did she go? Limestone had to be there somewhere, who else could have said such horrible things about her. However, now that the voice was gone, the feeling of emptiness and despair that Pinkie had felt, suddenly vanished. Instead, they were replaced with two new emotions, anger and rage.

Pinkie Pie wasn't going to be pushed around anymore, the next time she saw Limestone she would tell her exactly what she thought about her. She was going to show Limestone that she wasn't weak and pathetic. She was going to show her that she was, strong and independent. And she was going to show how strong and independent she was by cleaning up the mess that she had caused. Now that Pinkie thought about what she had done, she realized that it was childish. It was certainly no way for a baker to behave that is.

So after a few more hours, her work was finished. The entire kitchen looked as though there never was a catastrophe. In fact, Pinkie actually went out of her way to shine the counters and wash the dishes that were leftover in the sink. Mom would be proud. And Limestone would be jealous because she would realize that her little sister wasn't as weak and pathetic as she had thought. Yes, that is exactly how it would happen, and it gave Pinkie such delight to think about how Limestone would be so stunned to find out that she was wrong all this time. In reality, it was Limestone who was weak and pathetic, not her little sister. Pinkie knew it now. She was the strong one, while Limestone was the weak one. And it wouldn't be long before Limestone learned that she wasn't always perfect. She may think that she is a perfect baker, but that glory for herself wouldn't last very long. Pinkie would prove that not only was she a perfect baker. She was THE perfect baker.

The Basement

Pinkie Pie was waiting for them to come back now. She couldn't wait to rub it in Limestone's face about how she cleaned the mess all by herself, not only that, but she also finished up some other chores that she wasn't even asked to do. If this didn't put Limestone in her place, then nothing would. It was time for her to feel the way that Pinkie felt for once. No longer would she be Limestone's little punching bag. Pinkie would also expect Limestone to apologize for the awful things that she had said to her when she was cleaning the mess in the kitchen. How could she say such terrible things to her little sister like that? Pinkie would be sure to find out why. And now was her chance, for her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bell jingling, signaling that somepony had walked through the front door.

"Pinkamena! We're home!" Cloudy Quartz shouted as she and Limestone walked inside carrying bags filled with cooking supplies. They found Pinkie Pie standing in the middle of the kitchen with an interesting look upon her face. It looked as though she was holding back the urge to unleash her true emotions of anger towards the both of them, but was trying to cover it up with a smile that seemed to make Cloudy Quartz and Limestone feel uncomfortable. Cloudy Quartz dropped her shopping bags on the kitchen counter and took a good look around the room before saying anything.

"Well, I see that you managed to clean the mess that you made." She finally said, turning to face her youngest daughter.

"Yes. Indeed I did. And Mom, I just want to apologize for my behavior, it was very unlike me to act that way." Pinkie said, still having the same expression that she had when they first walked into the kitchen. Cloudy Quartz gave a look of concern at Pinkie before replying.

"Well, at least you learned your lesson."

"And I also took the liberty of shining the counters and washing the dishes while you were gone." As Pinkie said this, she turned and looked directly at Limestone. Her older sister just stood there confused, as Pinkie stared at her with a face of gloat.

"Really? You did all of that?" Cloudy Quartz said surprised. She then observed the cabinets to find that all of the dishes had been washed and observed the counters to find that they were shined.

"Well thank you very much Pinkamena, I'm sorry that I yelled at you the way I did." She then walked over and hugged Pinkie and kissed her on the forehead. Yes, this was exactly the way that Pinkie wanted it to go, it was time for her to get the praise and for Limestone to be shoved to the sidelines. Now it was time to reveal the truth of Limestone's dirty trick.

"And Mom, I think there's something else you should know." Pinkie said pulling away from her mother.

"What is it Pinkamena?" Cloudy Quartz said with a look of concern.

"You should know that Limestone came back here to the bakery while I was working, and decided to say the most nastiest things you could imagine to me." Pinkie said pointing her hoof at Limestone as she spoke. At first, Pinkie expected Mom to believe her, but that wasn't the case.

"Pinkamena, what are you talking about?" Cloudy Quartz finally responded. This was when Limestone finally decided to speak.

"Yeah, what are you talking about? I was with Mom the whole time while we were at the market." Pinkie's confident stature then began to deflate as she realized that her mother was not going to believe a word she was saying.

"But it's true Mom, I heard Limestone as I was cleaning up the kitchen. I did, I heard her, I swear! She was saying horrible things to me, saying that I was weak and pathetic, and that...and that I was the reason that the family fell apart, and that I was never going to a be a perfect baker! And...and...!" Pinkie was rambling before her mother cut her off.

"Pinkamena, calm down. Look, I don't know what you heard, but it couldn't have been Limestone. She was with me the whole day, she never left my sight. Maybe you just imagined it." Cloudy Quartz said holding Pinkie Pie trying to calm her down.

"But...but..." Pinkie tried to speak before being interrupted by her mother.

"Now Pinkamena, you must be very tired from all of the hard work that you did today, and maybe you let your imagination run wild when you heard your sister's voice." Cloudy Quartz then gave Pinkie a gentle shove out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. "Now why don't you go to your room and get some rest, you deserve it." And with that Pinkie made her way slowly up the stairs towards her bedroom.

Pinkie Pie sat on top of her bed for a very long time. She tried to sleep, but she couldn't. She was too busy...thinking. Thinking about how Limestone got away with this little scheme of hers. There was no way that Pinkie could have imagined her sister's voice, it was too real. It was so clear that Limestone might as well have been standing right next to her as she spoke. But then again, the more that Pinkie thought about it, she didn't recall anyone being in the room at the time. Maybe she really did just imagine it. What was wrong with her? Was she going mad? No, no of course not! Not Pinkie Pie. Not the perfect baker. She wouldn't make such a stupid mistake. She most definitely heard Limestone's voice that afternoon and she was sure of it. And she was sure that Limestone was behind it all. In fact, Pinkie could just imagine Limestone right now denying the whole story. Cloudy Quartz probably asked Limestone all about it after Pinkie went upstairs, and of course Limestone would lie right through her teeth and swear that she never did anything of the sort. Just like she did that day when she lied about splattering paint all over the side of the house. Pinkie knew it all too well, Limestone was a liar. She knew that Limestone somehow managed to sneak away from her mother at the market and come back to the bakery just to mock poor little "Stinkie Pie." Well if that's how Limestone wanted to play, Pinkie could play right along with her.

The next morning, Cloudy Quartz had gone out shopping again for groceries, only this time, she didn't take Limestone with her. She made Pinkie and Limestone stay at the bakery, so that they could spend some time together and hopefully get along with each other. Which did not thrill neither Limestone nor Pinkie, but they were stuck with each other for the evening. Cloudy Quartz suggested that Limestone help Pinkie Pie with mixing and preparing dough while she was out. So that's what they did for a while. Limestone carefully demonstrated the right amount to measure and mix and how to get the texture of the dough just right, but once Pinkie started trying to mix, it was a complete disaster. After about fifteen minutes of this, Limestone finally said.

"Ugh, you're hopeless Stinkie Pie!"

"Oh, are you going to say to me the exact same things you told me that day when Mom thought that you were with her at the market!" Pinkie shouted back, throwing a piece of dough on the floor.

"What is wrong with you! I told you that I was with Mom the whole day! I never went back to the bakery!" Limestone said raising her voice at Pinkie.

"I don't believe you, you're a liar Limestone, and you always will be." Pinkie Pie said staring straight into Limestone's raging eyes. Limestone then stepped away from Pinkie Pie shaking her head.

"You know what I think? I think you were just trying to get me into trouble with Mom. And you made that whole story up, about how you so called 'heard my voice.'"

"You know what, forget it. I didn't think you would confess anyway." Pinkie said as she walked out of the kitchen, leaving Limestone still standing there.

Later that afternoon, Pinkie Pie was sitting behind the counter reading a book that she had gotten from the Golden Oak Library in Ponyville. Whenever Pinkie Pie had nothing to do, she would try reading. She never really used to read all that much, but ever since she found out about a place in Ponyville that rents books, she started picking up on it. She mostly read books that involved baking. Pinkie figured that reading a few of these books might help her improve in her baking skills, and they helped a little, but not enough to solve the whole situation. However the book she was reading today was very strange. It was a book that told about the mysteries of the Everfree Forest, which was a patch of woodlands that was just outside of Ponyville, and Pinkie had heard about how all of the residents lived in fear of the dreadful forest. The book was mostly filled with tall tales and legends about the dark woods. Most of them were scary, and Pinkie liked it. But there was one legend in the book that really sent shivers down her spine. It was a tale about these ponies that lived in the Everfree Forest, and they had their own little village and everything. However the ponies in the village struggled to find any food to eat, for they had no knowledge of how to farm. And because of this, the ponies in the village had to resort to cannibalism. Cannibalism? Pinkie had never heard of it before. She had to look it up in a dictionary before she finally figured out what the word meant. She was disturbed, she had never heard about ponies eating other ponies before, and it almost made her sick. Although, it did peak her curiosity. What would pony meat even taste like? She figured it would most likely taste disgusting, but still, it made her wonder. But Pinkie Pie's reading was interrupted when Limestone came up to her to say something. Pinkie Pie closed the book and sighed.

"What is it Limestone?"

"Hey Pinkie, why don't we go down to the basement and play a game?" Limestone asked pulling Pinkie out from behind the counter. This threw Pinkie off for a second. First of all, she didn't call her "Stinkie Pie," and second she wanted to play a game with her? This was very unusual for Limestone, but Pinkie figured that she shouldn't waste the opportunity to make up with her sister.

"Okay, sure. But what basement are you talking about?" Pinkie asked confused, as she was being tugged along by her older sister.

"I found it not too long ago. It was behind that really old-looking door." There was indeed a basement in the bakery, but neither Pinkie nor Limestone knew about it when they moved in. Even Cloudy Quartz didn't notice it. It was only now that Limestone had discovered it. Unlike the rest of the bakery that was remodeled when it's new house owners moved in, since the basement was unknown to them, it was left untouched. When Pinkie Pie and Limestone opened the door that led down into the basement, it was very dark. Pinkie Pie hesitated at first, but she figured that Limestone would tease her if she acted afraid of the dark. So Pinkie Pie started down the creaky steps that led down into the dark room, when suddenly she felt a shove from behind her, and she tumbled down the stairs and with a loud crash, hit the floor knocking over many unknown objects in the darkness. Pinkie Pie struggled to get up when she heard her sister's voice from the top of the stairs.

"That's for lying and trying to get me into trouble!" And with that final outburst, Pinkie heard the door to the basement shut close. Pinkie Pie tried to make her way through the dark room and felt her way up the stairs to the door and began to pound against it.

"Let me out! Let me out!" But it was all to no avail, for Limestone did not answer, and now Pinkie was stuck in a dark room all alone. She should've known that it would be a trick, why else would Limestone be so uncharacteristically nice to Pinkie all of a sudden after they had a fight. Pinkie knew that Limestone could be really cruel sometimes, but nothing like this! Locking her little sister up in a dark and scary basement. With no company at all. At least, she thought.

In the pitch-black darkness of the basement, Pinkie heard a voice. She began to become terrified, she was so scared that she dared not breathe. But she listened very closely to the voice. To her surprise, the voice sounded very familiar. It was a voice that she had heard her whole life. It was the voice of her mother.

"Poor, poor Pinkamena. Did your bad sister do this to you?"

"Mom?" Pinkie said trying to talk back to the mysterious voice. She stood up and ran all around the room bumping into random objects and falling down, desperately trying to find her mother in the darkness.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, we can't have this now, can we? I wanted you two to bond and play nice with each other, and this is what happens?"

"It's true Mom! Limestone pushed me down the stairs to the basement and she locked me in here and I'm so scared Mom, it's so dark in here!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she felt tears coming to her eyes.

"I believe you. You don't have to worry, your mother's here to take care of you now."

"But Mom, where are you? I can't see you!" Pinkie Pie pleaded, still crying.

"Now, now, stop your crying right now Pinkamena. That's no way for a perfect baker to act, now is it?"

Pinkie Pie then wiped away her remaining tears and took a few short breaths to calm down.

"Good, now that that's been taken care of, it's time we discuss what needs to be done."

"What needs to be done? What do you mean?" Pinkie asked as her little head perked up.

"What I mean is, we have to discuss what needs to be done about your sister."

"Limestone? Why?" Pinkie asked, confused.

"Well Pinkamena, do think that what she did to you is acceptable? Do you think that ANY of the behavior that she has shown to you is acceptable? No, of course, it isn't. That is why something must be done to stop it."

Pinkie Pie sat in the darkness of the basement listening to all that her mother had to say to her. And she was right, the behavior that Limestone had shown to Pinkie was unacceptable, and something had to be done.

"Not only that, but Limestone has been getting in your way. Every time you try to improve with your baking, Limestone is always three steps ahead of you. I know how much it hurts you Pinkamena. And I also know how much you hate it. In fact, I know how much you hate her."

Pinkie Pie was shocked upon hearing this. How did her mother know about her feelings? Pinkie always had a feeling that she somewhat hated her sister, but she never wanted to admit it to herself. How did Mother find out?

"You don't have to hide anything from me Pinkamena, I know that you deeply despise your sister. And I don't blame you, and you want to know why? Because she is holding you back from becoming a perfect baker. Haven't you noticed how much she gets all of the attention with her baking skills, and yet you are still fiddling around with pathetic samples of dough? We can't let this go on Pinkamena. You have to do something about it. You have to get Limestone out of the way. You must...remove her."

"Wait, what are you saying? What are you saying, Mom?" But Pinkie Pie just sat there waiting for a reply that would never come, for the voice was gone. Pinkie Pie pondered on what the voice of her mother had told her. What did she mean by "get Limestone out of the way?" She wasn't really suggesting that...no, of course not, her mother wouldn't suggest such a thing. Would she? Pinkie Pie then began to pick herself up and felt her way to the bottom of the stairs and climbed up them. She reached the door and before she had a chance to knock, it opened, and there was Limestone standing in front of the bright light that shined through the doorway. Pinkie Pie's eyes squinted at the sudden burst of light in her eyes. She gave them a chance to adjust before speaking.

"Finally decided to let me out?" Pinkie said, giving Limestone the dirtiest look.

"I heard you yelling and talking to yourself in there, so I thought that you might have needed some air." Limestone said with the same sickening grin that she always had.

"I was not talking to myself, I was talking to Mom!" Pinkie said close to Limestone's face.

"Oh great, making up more lies, huh?"

"I'm serious, I heard Mom's voice as clear as day!"

"Oh, will you just shut up, Stinkie Pie! You are so annoying with your stupid stories!" Limestone yelled, raising her volume.

"I'm not lying! She really did talk to me! She said that you shouldn't treat me the way you do and that you were getting in my way!" Pinkie yelled breathing heavily. Limestone then perked her ears up as she heard this.

"Oh really? So she says I'm getting in your way? Is there anything else I should know about?" Limestone said with growing frustration. Pinkie hesitated for a moment, but then told her everything.

"She said that you were in the way of me becoming a perfect baker and that you had to be stopped, and...and she said that I need to get you out of the way, that I needed to...to...remove...you..." The two then stood silently for a moment as Limestone let all of the information sink in. Limestone then leaned toward Pinkie Pie and said.

"There is something seriously wrong with you Stinkie Pie. You need to grow up." Limestone then began to walk away, until Pinkie said under her breath,

"I hate you." Limestone stopped for a second, not turning around to face her.

"Yeah, I figured." Limestone walked a few steps down the hall until she said,

"You know, you better get used to me being in your way, because I'm not going anywhere." With that, she walked away, with Pinkie standing there almost on the verge of tears.

It was late in the afternoon and Cloudy Quartz had still not come back yet. Pinkie Pie and Limestone had stayed out of each other's way since they had their little mishap earlier. Limestone was in the store dusting the tables, while Pinkie was standing behind the counter reading her book about the cannibals. She paused from her reading and went over to Limestone. She figured that she had to apologize for the way she reacted and for the things that she said. But before she could speak, Limestone spoke.

"What do you want?" She said in such a harsh tone, that it caused Pinkie to back up a few steps.

"I...I just wanted to apologize..."

"For what? Saying that you 'hate me?' Whatever. I don't want to hear it." Pinkie Pie quickly felt rising irritation. Here she was trying to offer an olive branch to her sister, and yet she still wanted to play the bully. How typical.

"Limestone, please listen to me. I'm tired of fighting with you all the time. I don't want to be enemies with my own sister! Why can't we just get along like normal sisters do?!"

"You want to know why, Stinkie Pie? It's because, in all honesty, I hate you as much as you probably hate me. I never wanted to be pulled away from my home on the rock farm, just so I could be dumped in the most decrepit excuse of a bakery that I have ever seen, and it's all because of you that this happened to me!" As Limestone was rapidly saying these things, she was slowly making her way towards the small pink filly, effectively making Pinkie feel almost insignificant.

"I never wanted to leave my home, and I most certainly did not want to be taken away from my Dad, and all because you acted like a baby, and went crying to Mom whenever things got tough for you!" Pinkie Pie then suddenly began to not feel so insignificant anymore, on the contrary, she felt a strong sense of anger welling up inside of her.

"That's why I can never forgive you, Stinkie Pie! You took everything that I held dear away from me, and all because you're just a sad little brat! Which is what you will always be no matter how much you may try to change! You'll always be nothing more than a snot-nosed baby brat!" Suddenly after this harsh statement, Limestone felt a powerful hoof smack across her face, and it was at this moment that she noticed how infuriated Pinkie had become. Limestone wiped her face with the back of her hoof to find that her nose was now bleeding.

The two fillies stood there silently for a moment, both of them slowly taking in the intense situation that had just transpired between them. For the first time in her young life, Limestone felt a twinge of fear towards her younger sister. She noticed the deep, burning hatred in the eyes that stared intently back at her. Limestone was so uneasy that she felt inclined to speak first.

"Okay...okay, I'm...I'm sorry. I might have gone too far." These words, no matter how genuine Limestone tried to make them sound, did nothing to soften the hostile look in her sister's eyes. There was another long period of silence, in which the fillies only stared intently at each other, only this time, the role of dominance was switched between them.

"Mom was right." Limestone heard Pinkie finally say, almost in a whisper.

"You have to be...removed..." And in that very moment, Pinkamena again heard the sweet melody of her mother's voice, beckoning her to give in to her instincts.

"Pinkamena, you know what you have to do."

Limestone Pie then watched in terror as her younger sister slowly distorted her fearful expression of anger into an uncomfortable smile.

"Hey Limestone, why don't we go down to the basement and play a game?"

The Burial

Limestone Pie had been missing for about two weeks. Nobody in Ponyville had seen her the day that she went missing. The last pony to have seen her was Pinkie Pie. When Cloudy Quartz came home from shopping for groceries, Pinkie was lying on her bed sleeping in her room, and Limestone was nowhere to be found. Cloudy Quartz went into a panic, and began searching the entire bakery. She checked every room, looked under every bed, and searched through every closet. No Limestone. She figured that Limestone had for whatever reason left the bakery to wander into town for something, but that wasn't the case. Cloudy Quartz ran all around Ponyville, frantic with worry. She searched for Limestone for three whole days, until finally, the Ponyville Council put out a search for the missing filly. Soon enough, missing pony posters with Limestone's face on them started appearing all around the little village. Almost everyone in Ponyville was devastated about this missing filly, for it rarely if ever happened for ponies to go missing. Cloudy Quartz had become distraught over the situation, and many felt her pain and were also very worried and sad for the lost little filly, that is...except for Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie was oddly calm and collected over the fact that her sister had gone missing. Of course, she had been interviewed by some ponies who were involved in the case. She was the last pony to have seen Limestone before her disappearance. According to Pinkie, she and Limestone got into a little spat and they decided to stay out of each other's way for a little while. Pinkie said that she felt tired and decided to lay down and take a nap. When she woke up, her mother was at the edge of her bed asking where Limestone was. And that was all there was to it. The investigators suspected that Limestone had run away from home, that was their most logical guess as to what happened, because her mother, Cloudy Quartz, had stated that Limestone had been dealing with all sorts of emotional trouble. From her parents splitting up to being defiant against her new home and feeling homesick, it would make sense if she did run away. However, that wasn't exactly the case. Because there was one pony who knew the truth behind Limestone's disappearance. And that pony...was Pinkie Pie.

She had lied to the investigators who were interviewing her, about what Limestone and Pinkie were doing the day she vanished. Some of it was true, like the part when they were fighting and tried their best to stay away from each other, but everything else was made up. A cover-up to what really happened. And what really happened, was something that Pinkie thought that she would never get over. But she had to, Limestone was in her way, she had to be...removed. Besides, she was just following orders. Wasn't it Mother who wanted Pinkie to get rid of her sister? She said it herself, there was no denying it. But still, even though she was the one that told Pinkie to remove her sister, she came home acting as if none of it had happened and wanted to know where Limestone had gone to. Pinkie didn't understand.

Well to Pinkie Pie, it didn't really matter at the moment. What mattered, was that she had to keep everything a secret for the time being. If word got out about what really happened to Limestone, the authorities would take her and Mother away. Away from the bakery. Away from the dream. Pinkie wasn't going to let that happen. She still had to prove to her Mom that she was a perfect baker. All Pinkie had to worry about was to make sure that nopony discovered the body. It bothered Pinkie to call that corpse of what had been her sister, "the body," but she knew that she needed to let it go and tell herself that it had to be done.

The evil deed was done down in the dark and depressing basement of the bakery. It wasn't necessarily a planned out event from the very beginning or anything like that. It just sort of...escalated to that point. It had started after Pinkie had hit Limestone so severely. And once blood was drawn, everything was fair game. The two fillies became so wrapped up in their feud, that they had both forgotten who they were, or what they were. As they punched, kicked, and even bit each other, it was almost as if they were nothing more than just two raging animals out for blood. In their minds, there were no thoughts of decency, fairness, or even family. There was only anger and fear. Limestone, for the first time, felt an absolute fear for her life, and she had very good reason to. This little pink filly, that she had bullied and humiliated all her life, had suddenly shed its innocent and harmless characteristics, and had become something else entirely. Something very dangerous. And Limestone had to flee from it.

She had made her way to the opening of the basement, and had attempted to lock herself in there; leaving the danger on the outside, but it was too quick for her. Limestone felt as the raging thing pushed her down the steps. When she had finally reached the bottom, there was a loud crack. Limestone attempted to move, but when she did, there was a sharp and severe pain, so intense, she almost passed out. Her back had broken immediately as it hit the floor. She was now helpless and vulnerable, as the very danger she was attempting to flee from was descending the steps and coming towards her.

The angry filly which stood above her was speaking words, but she could not hear. The pain was just too intense for her to concentrate. For how long it just stood there talking, Limestone could not know. She just wanted it all to end. Maybe if she spoke, and pleaded to the danger hovering over her, it would all end quickly. She tried desperately to whisper something, but the words would not, could not come. It was hard to speak because of the blood that was filling her mouth. And then finally, something came forth.

"Pinkie...Pinkie...please...please..." Limestone wanted desperately to say more. There was so much more that she needed to say. But it just couldn't be done. It was all in vain, and she soon realized that, when the image of an enraged Pinkamena Diane Pie, with the stringy dark pink hair covering her face came into view. Limestone stared deeply into the eyes of hate, and wished desperately for them to go away. She then heard the voice of the angry being that was her little sister. She listened to it speak, but the sound was unfamiliar to her. Otherworldly. It spoke, softly and clearly.

"Do you remember...that day when Dad hit me? Do you?" Limestone struggled and didn't wish to remember. All she wanted was to forget. She didn't like what the voice was saying.

"Because I remember. Those kinds of wounds...never really heal...not really..." It was becoming more and more difficult for Limestone to continue listening. There was a new sensation of pain now. A pain which she felt from within her, and that pain came forth in the form of a tear, which rolled down her bleeding cheek.

Her mind was beginning to fade now. Breathing became hard and she gasped with each breath. She then heard, as the voice which had been speaking these things to her, began to quiver and quake. She then recognized the familiar cadence of her little sister's voice as it began to grow frantic. She listened, as the voice called her name, but Limestone could not find the will nor the strength to respond. Limestone could only feel now, and she felt many things. But the biggest thing that she felt in her last moment, was regret...much regret. Until finally, Limestone Pie was gone. Gone from it all. Gone from the pain and sorrow that she had left behind. Gone from the misdeeds that had led her to this moment. Gone from the desperate pleas of her tormented little sister. Gone, but never forgotten...never...ever...

For how long Pinkamena Diane Pie sat there, trying desperately to shake her older sister back to life, she did not know. She had become so consumed with her unending rage, that she didn't even realize that the life in Limestone's eyes had slipped away in the middle of it all. Finally, she stopped shaking her sister's limp body, and grabbed ahold of Limestone's head with her two front hooves.

"Limestone! Limestone! No! No, Please! I didn't mean it! Limestone? Please...please...don't go..." was all that Pinkie could say, as she stared into the lifeless eyes of her older sister. The tears then came, and once they started, Pinkie knew they would not cease. She let go of her sister's head as it slumped to the floor of the dirty basement.

"What have I done? Oh Momma, what have I done? Momma, please help me...please help me, Momma..." Pinkie Pie could only then curl herself up, and wallow in her grief. She cried, and cried, until she had practically nothing left to cry. She sorrowfully rocked back and forth, sitting only three feet away from the corpse of her dead sister.

"Why? Why? What's...what's wrong with me? How could I...? How could I...have done...?" Pinkie couldn't even bring herself to look at the remains of Limestone. She just continued to sob, even though she no longer had anymore tears left to shed. Then Pinkie suddenly stopped. She gasped and looked all around; her eyes darting everywhere, making sure to not let them fall on Limestone's remains.

"Is this real...? Please..." She slapped herself several times in a desperate attempt to wake herself up from the nightmare that she was living. But no matter how hard she beat herself up, the nightmare would never end. She had to accept it now. What she had done...was very real. It was no dream. The reality of the situation sat only three feet away, as a constant reminder. Pinkie finally got a good look at her sister's body. Her spine was clearly broken, and it was all twisted and distorted. There was a gentle stream of blood that flowed out from her mouth and nose. Not only that, but blood also seeped out of the many cuts and bite wounds that were all over her body.

And even though Pinkie had already cried her heart out over this tragedy that she had caused, she still somehow felt the need to continue. So, she sobbed some more, as she sat and continued to cradle herself. But then, she heard a voice, and for half a second, she had hoped that it was Limestone waking up again, but it wasn't. This was a different voice. It was her mother again.

"Pinkamena Diane Pie, why are you crying?"

"Momma...Momma..." Pinkie managed to say, through many sniffles and sobs. "I did this...this...horrible thing. I'm sorry...I'm sorry. It's all my fault..."

"Pinkamena, dear, there is absolutely NO reason for all of these unnecessary tears."

Pinkie then became startled at her mother's words. She felt confused. She thought that she would be absolutely furious, but she wasn't. Her melodic voice was still just as gentle and soothing as it had always been. Pinkie then slowly began to stop crying. She wiped the tears from her eyes and listened to see if her mother would say anything else.

"I know that right now it might be difficult for you to understand, but what you did was a good thing."

Pinkie Pie was shocked upon hearing this. She became even more confused. She didn't understand what her mother was trying to tell her.

"Mom, how could this have possibly been a good thing?! I just murdered my own sister in a fit of rage!" Pinkie felt the need to cry again, but this time she held it back in order to remain strong for her mother.

"You don't understand...you're not thinking clearly, my dear. Remember what I told you when you were locked down here, all by yourself?"

Pinkie Pie thought long and hard about it, trying to remember what it was that her mother had said. And then, her mother finally said it.

"Limestone was in the way, Pinkamena. She was in the way of your improvement. Listen to me, Pinkamena. Listen to your mother. Don't let this guilt eat you up. You have to understand that it had to be done. For the greater good, sacrifices must be made."

Pinkie listened very carefully to her mother without interrupting. She was beginning to understand now. It did indeed have to be done. There was no other way, really. It just couldn't be helped...

Pinkie Pie then realized that she had to stop feeling sorry for what she had done to Limestone. There was just no more use in it. Mother was right, it was all for the greater good. "Sacrifices must be made," Pinkie told herself, and she would be sure to remember that phrase whenever she felt doubtful.

And so, the deed was done, and Pinkie had to find a way to clean up the mess and hide the body before anyone else discovered what dark undertaking had occurred at Sugarcube Corner. Luckily, the bakery had not opened its doors yet, so there was no need to worry about customers walking in.

Pinkie wanted to make sure that Limestone's body would be buried and taken care of; she at least deserved that. So, she had to find a way to get Limestone's body out of the basement and outside. But wait, she couldn't do that, somepony would most certainly see her burying the corpse. She had to find another way. Pinkie wandered around the dark basement and eventually found the light switch. When the lights came on, Pinkie could fully see the horrifying details of the act that she had just committed. Limestone's mangled body was all beaten and bruised, and her lifeless eyes still stared disturbingly at Pinkie, as if mocking her. Before she could do anything else, Pinkie forced herself to close Limestone's eyes manually, so she wouldn't have to see them anymore. After this, she went back upstairs and made sure to close the basement door behind her.

When she was in the kitchen, Pinkie got a mop from the closet in order to clean up the little spots of blood that were all over the kitchen and in the hallway from the fight. Once that was cleaned up, she carried the mop and bucket down into the basement to clean the rest. However, she quickly realized that she had to find a place to store the corpse temporarily, before she could clean. She frantically searched all around the basement for anything that she could use. She was about to give up, when she found a half-hidden compartment underneath the stairs. There was a tiny red curtain, which draped over the little door. On the door was a latch with a padlock just hanging there, unlocked. She opened the tiny compartment and looked all around inside. It wasn't very big, but she figured that it was just big enough for a small filly to possibly fit inside. So, Pinkie decided that it would be better than nothing.

So, she carefully dragged Limestone's corpse over to where the door to the compartment was. She slowly opened the little door, which gave off a quiet little creak as it opened. And then, Pinkie tried desperately to get Limestone to fit inside, however she had a difficult time. She had managed to get the body inside fine, but the door to the compartment would not shut all the way with Limestone inside. And so, Pinkie made a choice. She decided to just pull the red curtain over the door, hopefully concealing what was inside. That's the best that Pinkie could make due for now, for she still had a lot of cleaning up left to do.

It took about half an hour or so before she had gotten all of the bloodstains cleaned, and she made sure that there weren't any more remaining traces. Once that was done, Pinkie Pie dragged the mop and bucket back up the stairs and put them away. However, Pinkie was still concerned over the fact that Limestone's body was still not well-hidden, and so, she decided that she would do the next best thing: she'd make sure that absolutely NO one could get down into that basement.

She took the padlock which she had found on the little door in the basement, and decided to lock it on the latch to the door that led down to the basement instead. She knew that she didn't have a key for the lock, but right now, Pinkie was going to worry about that for later. She was very tired after everything that had happened, and she decided, right then and there, that she would go take a nap in her nice, warm bed. And so, she did.

And that's how Pinkie Pie's sister, Limestone Pie, went missing. Afterward, as soon as everything had calmed down, and once all of the ponies who had interviewed Pinkie multiple times had gone their way, all who were left in the bakery was Pinkie Pie and her mother, Cloudy Quartz. Pinkie Pie sat quietly behind the counter, while her mother stood staring out the window, with tears rolling down her cheeks, and sobbing bitterly. Pinkie Pie was very confused as to why her mother was going to such lengths to find her missing sister when she knew the truth as to what really happened. In fact, she was the one who told Pinkie to do it. So, why was she so sad? And as Pinkie thought about it more and more, she realized that just because it had to be done, did not mean that you had to like it. Maybe this was her way of grieving, and it was best not to question it at this point.

"I'm going to go lay down for a little bit." Cloudy Quartz suddenly said, catching Pinkie off guard.

"Oh, a-alright." she replied, and with that, Cloudy Quartz walked slowly up the stairs, down the hallway, and into her bedroom. Pinkie Pie didn't hear a peep out of her for the rest of the night.

It was midnight. The bakery was still, and Cloudy Quartz had cried herself to sleep and was now peacefully at rest for the time being, when down the hallway, the door to her youngest daughter's bedroom opened slowly. Out came the little filly as quiet as she could be, with only a few creaks escaping from the floorboard every now and again that broke the silence, as she crept down the stairs. She was now tiptoeing her way towards to big door that led down to the ominous basement. She stared unhappily at the old door, locked up tight with the padlock that she had found. Pinkie Pie now had a problem. She had no key with which to unlock it with, and if she didn't unlock it, she couldn't dispose of the..."thing" in the basement. She figured that she might be able to bust it open, but that would make far too much noise. She knew now. Her only solution was to find the key...wherever it might be. Pinkie knew that her mother had a key ring which hung on the kitchen wall. She decided to start with that.

Pinkie then silently crept her way into the kitchen. But to her horror, when she looked to retrieve the key ring, it was missing from the nail on the wall. Pinkie Pie then felt a desperate need to scream. However, this was not the time nor the place to let out these frustrations; right now she had to focus on finding that key ring. She searched the kitchen thoroughly; looking through every cabinet and drawer, trying to be as quiet as she possibly could, but there was no key ring to be found. Pinkie then began to feel panicked. In the silence of the night, she could hear her heart pounding clearly. She tried to think of where else the key ring could be, but the steadily rising agitation made her judgement cloudy. Until, finally a thought came to her. No, actually it was more of a memory. She suddenly remembered that when Mom had gone up to her room earlier that day, she still had on her saddle bags. And on the saddle bags, held there by a string...was the key ring. Pinkie then felt a sense of anxiety wash over her, as she realized what she had to do.

The door to her mother's room slid silently open, which Pinkie was very glad for. She stared at the bed where Cloudy Quartz lay, her chest gently rising and falling. Pinkie Pie felt bad for her mother. This whole thing was hitting her much harder than Pinkie had thought. But hopefully, once everything was taken care of, things would finally be able to go back to normal. At least, that's what Pinkie hoped for. But right now, she had to concentrate. Had to find the key ring. She scanned her eyes across the room looking for the saddle bags, until she saw them lying in a corner of the room, carelessly thrown down there from what it looked like. She crept, carefully and quietly over to them. Unfortunately, she didn't see the key ring hanging there, and thought that it might be underneath the bags. She turned the bags over, making sure not to bang the items inside of them around. And then she saw it, the key ring, held by a string. She then loosened it and the key ring was released. There were about seven keys on the ring itself, and as Pinkie picked it up with her mouth, they all jingled together as they touched. Pinkie Pie flinched with the sudden noise that broke the silence, and she turned to face the bed, afraid that the sound might have woken her mother. But to her relief, Cloudy Quartz only shifted slightly in her sleep, and then lay still. Pinkie then let out an exhale through her tiny nostrils and crept quietly out of her mother's room, taking the key ring with her.

When she had finally made it to the basement door, she went through key after key, trying to find the one that would fit the padlock. All of the keys on the ring were ones that Cloudy Quartz had received from the previous owners of the bakery, and she hoped that one of them would fit the padlock on the door. One of them had to fit. It just had to. By the fifth key, Pinkie Pie was beginning to get nervous, her little hooves floundering slightly as she fumbled with the sixth key. She placed it into the lock, and hoped that it would turn over. She then heard the telltale click from the padlock, as it snapped loose. Pinkie then breathed a sigh of relief, as she took the padlock off the latch on the door. She opened the door to the basement as softly as she could, but could not help the loud creak which ascended from it as it opened.

The little pink filly then stood there in the opening as she stared into the darkness below her, knowing fully what was awaiting for her down there. She crept down the stairs, each one creaking softly as she descended. Pinkie did not need to flip on the lights, for she already knew where the thing she was looking for was. And when she had found it, she pulled back the red curtain to reveal the horror that was hiding behind it.

Pinkie then proceeded to drag Limestone's twisted corpse up the stairs, out of the basement, and into the backyard that was behind the bakery. She already knew the exact spot where she was going to bury the body. She chose to bury Limestone behind some thick bushes that were under a large tree that had grown above them. She grabbed a shovel from out of the tool shed and started to dig. The hole was relatively deep and big, which was much too large for burying a body, but Pinkie didn't care. All she was worried about, was getting rid of...it.

She placed her sister in the hole and threw earth on her. Once she was done and had carefully padded back down the dirt, she decided that she had to at least say a few words before leaving. She thought about it for a minute or two and then looked down at the patch of dirt.

"I'm sorry sis, I'm sorry that it had to end this way." Pinkie could feel tears starting to form, but forced herself to hold them back. After all, it would only make her look weak and pathetic, which was not the lasting impression that she wanted to leave for her sister. "But, it had to be done. I proved you wrong, I am not weak and pathetic. I still haven't forgotten the things you said to me that day, and I never will forget. Ever." Pinkie could feel growing irritation as she spoke.

"Maybe if you had treated me better, you wouldn't be in the cold and dark place you are now. I guess you aren't as perfect as you thought you were." Pinkie let a little sick grin break across her face.

"Everything is going to be different now. From now on, I'm going to be the one that succeeds at everything. I'm going to be the one most loved by my parents. I'm going to be the perfect baker at Sugarcube Corner." She then bent her head down, with her face almost touching the ground.

"And while I'm making all of the progress, you are going to be right here, lying under the cold dark earth." And with that, Pinkie stood up and started to head back inside the bakery.

"Oh, I'm sure you won't get that far...Stinkie Pie."

Pinkie Pie made a sharp turn to face the grave that she had just made for her sister, looking for any sign of Limestone. But she wasn't there. She was hearing her voice again. Even from beyond the grave, her sister would still be there to torment her. Pinkie Pie ran back inside and locked the door behind her. She went back to her bedroom and climbed back into bed. She sat there wide awake, with the words of her sister still lingering in her mind.

Back Home

A month had gone by since Limestone Pies' disappearance, and the investigators were beginning to give up hope in ever finding the lost filly. It had been the most extensive search for a lost filly in a long time, and it seemed as though the investigators were getting ready to call it quits. Cloudy Quartz had remained in the same emotional state ever since her eldest daughter went missing, she would usually be seen standing alone by herself not saying a word. Any other time she would be trying her best to get Ponyville's new bakery up and running, but ever since Limestone ran away she had lost all will to do so. This isn't what she wanted. All she wanted was to raise her two daughters in a safe little village, a place far away from the rock farm, far away from all of the emotional troubles that plagued their minds. Cloudy Quartz always figured that she was doing what was best for her two daughters, but maybe she was wrong. Maybe they should have just stayed there and she could've worked things out with her husband. Maybe this was all just one big mistake. Maybe...

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard footsteps from behind her. It was her youngest daughter, Pinkie Pie, who had come in to check on her mother. Cloudy Quartz was staring out the window, had been staring out the window for quite some time now. Pinkie walked slowly towards her mother somewhat hesitating at first.

"Mom?"

Cloudy Quartz quickly wiped away the tears that still resided in her eye sockets, and turned around to face her daughter.

"Hey there sweetie. What can I do for you honey?" Cloudy Quartz said, trying to sound as natural as possible.

"Mom, I don't like it when you are sad, because when you are sad, it makes me sad." Cloudy Quartz didn't exactly know what to say to this. So she just turned back around and continued staring out the window.

"I will grieve for as long as my heart tells me to, Pinkamena." She finally said after several seconds of thought. Pinkie Pie took in her mother's statement and then slowly walked out of the room.

Pinkie Pie had noticed this strange change of character that had come over her mother, and she didn't like it. Pinkie thought that once the horrendous deed was done to remove her sister, everything would go back to the way it was, but she could be farther from the truth. Mother seemed more subdued, less energetic, and more emotional than she had been before. Pinkie didn't think Limestone's death would affect her this badly. Maybe removing Limestone was a mistake. Maybe Pinkie Pie should have tried harder to make amends with her sister. Maybe...

"Stop it!" Pinkie thought to herself, "It had to be done! Don't forget what mother said. Never forget what mother said." Pinkie Pie's head pondered on these things as she found herself heading towards her room to lie down. When Pinkie entered her room, she found herself just standing there in the middle of it, unsure of what to do. Pinkie Pie wished that she could just take a break. Take a break from all of the negative aspects of life for just one little moment. That's it! She could play one of her imaginary games. It had been a while since Pinkie had gotten a chance to play pretend, what with all of the excitement recently. She could set up her little tea party and invite her father and sister just like she always did. Except she knew that it would never be the same after what she did to Limestone. But even though Pinkie thought that she had gotten rid of Limestone for the time being, she still had this little feeling of doubt in the back of her mind. This little nagging feeling that Limestone still carried some sort of presence.

"Well? Are you proud of yourself, Stinkie Pie?"

Now Pinkie could feel it. The little piece of doubt that had been nagging at her was gone now. And it seemed to had been replaced with a new feeling. A feeling that seemed to consume not only her mind but her every being. And that was fear. Pinkie Pie jerked her head up and began to dart her eyes all around the room, desperate to find the owner of the voice that tormented her so. Even though that deep inside herself, Pinkie knew who owned that voice.

"W-Who's there?" Pinkie asked with hesitation.

"I think you already know who this is."

"What do you want with me?" Pinkie was now beginning to curl up on the floor out of a feeling of being vulnerable.

"I wanted to pay a little visit. Just to see how the family was getting along. You know? After you killed me."

Pinkie Pie felt herself tense up, and she began to focus her stare towards to floor trying her best not to look up, because she knew that if she did, she would see her big sister there standing over her. Pinkie knew that no matter what she did, Limestone would come back. She would always be there. Always there to mock, to tease, to ridicule, to make her feel like she had no worth.

"I guess it turns out that what you did to me wasn't the greatest idea after all. Mom's in a state of crisis, and you don't look like you're that far off."

Pinkie was now covering her ears, but it was useless because she could still hear her sister as clear as a bell. She knew that there was nothing she could do to escape from the voice. The voice that seemed to have this power over Pinkie that no other being could possess.

"Don't you see what you've done Stinkie Pie? You've ruined this family. Ever since you came into this world, you've been tearing the family apart. Your father wants nothing to do with you. Your big sister is gone because of you. And your mother! How she must hate you after what you did to me. You got rid of the only child of hers that had any chance of actually becoming a baker. You took that away from her, Stinkie Pie! You think you can fit the bill and take my place?! I think not."

Pinkie Pie began to shake lying there on her bedroom floor, while she desperately clamped her hooves against her ears just hoping in vain that the voice would go away. But it never would go away now. Ever. And Pinkie knew that now.

"The only thing that could fix this broken family was if I came back. So, why don't you let me take care of things..."

Pinkie Pie suddenly stopped shaking, she began to lie still, and then she closed her eyes. And then a miracle happened. Limestone came back home. She was where she belonged. Not buried deep under the cold dark earth, but alive. And she decided that she was going to go see her mother.

Cloudy Quartz was downstairs in the kitchen cooking. She had finally stopped staring out the window and decided that she had to get supper ready for Pinkamena and herself. She knew that she would have to eventually pull herself out of this depressed state she was in. She had to think of something else besides Limestone. But she couldn't help it. Cloudy Quartz had hoped that Limestone had run away to the rock farm, but when she had sent a letter to Igneous Rock asking if he had seen Limestone and had informed him about her disappearance, he wrote back stating that she hadn't been to the rock farm. Cloudy Quartz was slow to have hope that Limestone would come back because Limestone never thought of the bakery as home. So why would she come back? It was hopeless. Cloudy Quartz continued her cooking when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Hello, Mom. I'm home."

Cloudy Quartz turned around to see where the voice was coming from.

"I'm back Mom, I came home. I thought that my home was back at the rock farm, but then I realized that the bakery is my home."

Cloudy Quartz stood there in the kitchen very confused and a little frightened.

"Everything's alright now, Mom. I'm where I belong, and I'm with you. You don't need to be sad anymore, because now I'm here. And I will do my best to become a perfect baker..."

"Pinkamena?" Cloudy Quartz finally managed to say. Pinkamena Diane Pie stood there in the kitchen staring at her mother with a crazed expression on her face. Her coat and mane for some obscene reason seemed more faded than it already was. Her dark pink mane, which usually seemed to be brushed to one side, was very stringy and hung in her face. Cloudy Quartz approached her youngest daughter very cautiously as if this was a stranger who had walked into her home.

"Pinkamena, what's wrong? Are you feeling alright?"

"Pinkamena? Mom, it's me, Limestone! I've come home to you."

"Pinkamena Diane Pie, you better stop this nonsense right now before I get upset!" Cloudy Quartz said as she began to feel rising irritation at seeing her youngest daughter acting so foolish. Pinkamena then began to slowly walk towards her mother in desperation, while Cloudy Quartz was trying to back away from her.

"What's wrong Mom? I'm here now. I ran away but I've come back to you. Don't you recognize you're eldest daughter?"

"That's about enough!" Cloudy Quartz shouted, as she finally ceased backing away from her.

"Mom, please! Tell me what's wrong! Don't you understand? It's me, Limestone! Limestone Pie!"

"Stop it!" Cloudy Quartz shouted as she smacked Pinkamena across the face with her hoof, which caused her youngest daughter to fall to the floor. Cloudy Quartz took several heavy breaths before noticing that her daughter had stopped moving. Cloudy Quartz then felt rising panic as she began to realize what she had just done.

"Pinkamena?" Cloudy Quartz then rushed over to her daughter and shook her as she tried in vain to get her to respond.

"Pinkamena! Answer me! Please wake up! I'm so sorry baby! I didn't mean it! Please speak to me!" Cloudy Quartz did all that she could to revive her youngest daughter, but it was all to no avail. She just sat there on the kitchen floor holding her youngest daughter and weeping.

Dashie

When Pinkie Pie awoke she was in her bed, and as she gave time for her eyes to adjust, she noticed her mother sitting in a chair close beside. When Cloudy Quartz realized that her daughter was awake she broke down into tears.

"Pinkamena!" she flung her arms around the small filly who was somewhat confused about the situation. Pinkie didn't really know what to think about all of this.

"I'm so sorry sweetie. I won't ever hit you again I swear." Now Pinkie was even more puzzled.

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

"Pinkamena, I'm sorry but I lost my temper and you were acting so strange, it's just that...that..." Cloudy Quartz trailed off to notice Pinkie Pie's confused expression.

"Mom, I'm sorry but I don't really understand what you're talking about." Pinkie said as she stared blankly at her mother. Cloudy Quartz became confused, but then she thought it over a little bit and pulled Pinkie closer to her as she said.

"Don't worry about it Pinkamena, everything is alright now and nothing else matters. Would you like for me to bring you something to eat?" Pinkie Pie thought about it and then replied with a quick nod of her head.

"Alright then. You just wait right here, and I'll bring it up to you." And with that Cloudy Quartz got up from her chair and left the room leaving Pinkie alone. Pinkie Pie could not wrap her head around it. What was her Mom talking about? Her face hurt a little but she didn't recall her mother ever hitting her. All Pinkie could remember was being in her room, and then...nothing. Afterwards she woke up tucked in her bed with her mother sitting beside her. It was all rather confusing. Maybe her Mom had a bad dream. Whatever the case was, her mother seemed to have forgotten about it, so Pinkie Pie figured that she should just forget about it too.

Finally after several months of searching for the poor lost filly named Limestone Pie, the search for her had been called off and she was pronounced dead. Then there were arrangements made for the funeral and almost all of Ponyville came to the downhearted engagement. It was rare in that little village for a little filly to go missing, so everypony was rather depressed. Igneous Rock and his other two daughters came as well. They had traveled all the way to Ponyville for the melancholy arrangement. Out of everyone else in the Pie family, Igneous Rock seemed to be taking it the hardest. In the middle of the service, Pinkie Pie actually saw her father shed a tear as it rolled down his cheek. Pinkie could not believe it. She almost refused to believe it. She never once in her young life ever saw her father show any other kind of emotion that did not involve sternness or anger. Pinkie Pie then slowly began to realize that life for her and her family would never be the same.

After the service, the Pie family returned to Sugar Cube Corner, the Ponyville bakery that had yet to open it's doors for business. Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz slowly walked in through the front door when the little bell above them rang; which seemed to give them a cheery welcome after such a long day. Pinkie Pie and her sisters followed closely behind them with their heads bowed. Igneous Rock then began to suspiciously study the inside of the bakery with disgust on his face as if he was inspecting a crime scene. Cloudy Quartz had begun to let the work slip away from her after Limestone's disappearance and it began to show. Cob webs had developed in every corner of the little shop and almost every surface was covered with dust.

"So, you took my daughter away from the rock farm...for this?" Igneous Rock blatantly stated, with obvious sternness in his voice. Cloudy Quartz then sighed deeply within herself knowing what was about to happen.

"Please Igneous, can we not do this now?" Cloudy Quartz replied, sounding defeated.

"No seriously, I would like to know why you snatched up my eldest daughter, the most hard-working child I ever had, and brought her to some desolate bakery that hasn't even been opened yet!?" Igneous Rock said, pressing on the issue further.

"I just wanted to give her a chance..." Cloudy Quartz replied.

"Give her a chance at what?" Igneous Rock said, walking over closer to his ex-wife.

"A chance for a better life!" Cloudy Quartz shouted.

"Well because of you and your genius bakery scheme, our daughter will never have a life period!" Igneous Rock screamed, somehow raising his voice up an octave.

"And what about Pinkamena?! Do you really think she would have been better off on the rock farm as well! With all of the abuse that she had to take from her own father! You really want to blame me for trying to make a better life for me and my daughters?! You broke this family Igneous, not me!" The two parents were now in each other's faces as they continued to argue, and Pinkie Pie and her sisters could see that it was getting worse. They then scurried upstairs to Pinkie's room and shut the door behind them.

They could still hear the muffled screams from downstairs and all three of them tried their best to ignore it. The three sisters sat silently for a moment, not knowing what to do or say. What could be said? What could be done? The family had suffered so much loss. First the divorce and now the death of their eldest sibling. Maud and Marble could not make sense of it. Maybe because there was no sense to it. There was nothing but madness at this point. Pure uncontrollable madness.

"I think it'll be okay." Maud and Marble perked their heads up. "I know that things are bad right now, but things will get better you'll see."

"Pinkie...don't you get it? The family is falling apart. Limestone's gone and our parents hate each other...I don't think things will ever be the same..." Maud sadly said, as she let a tear fall from her eye. Pinkie Pie knew that she couldn't deny the truth in her big sister's words. Things never would be the same again. Ever. Maybe their was no hope for the family. Maybe Pinkie had made a mistake in doing what she did to Limestone. Maybe the family would be no more if Limestone never came back. Maybe...

Later that night, Pinkie laid wide awake in her bed. She was thinking. Thinking about what she had done. Thinking about the destruction she had brought upon her family. If only Pinkie Pie could bring Limestone back. Then everything would be fine. Things could go back to normal. But Pinkie Pie knew that would not be possible. She was buried in the ground. Pinkie Pie knew that this was all her fault. But what about her mother? Mother had told Pinkie Pie to do it. Mother knows best. So why didn't removing Limestone make things better?

Pinkie Pie's head began to hurt. She could not understand anything. How could it have gone so wrong? This was not supposed to happen. She was supposed to become the perfect baker. Once Limestone was gone, Pinkie Pie would step up to the plate and win her Mother's love and respect. So why did it not happen? Now there's more misery and pain than what was there to begin with. All because of Pinkie Pie. Pinkamena Diane Pie was to blame for everything. She was the villain. Pinkie realized that now.

"I was the one who should have been removed, not Limestone." Pinkie Pie whispered to herself.

The next morning, Igneous Rock, Maud, and Marble Pie stood at the entrance of Sugar Cube Corner with their bags at their side, ready for the journey back to the rock farm. Cloudy Quartz was the only one there to see them off as Pinkie Pie had decided to sleep in. Cloudy Quartz bent her head down to kiss both Maud and Marble goodbye.

"You'll come and visit us one day, right?" Marble said, feeling nervous about asking the question.

"Maybe some day." Cloudy Quartz said as she lightly smiled to reassure them. She then turned towards her ex-husband, unsure of what to even say to him. "Igneous..." she finally managed to say.

"Cloudy..." he spoke back, rather uncomfortably. "Come on girls, we've got a long ways ahead of us." And with that he motioned his two daughters towards the door and there they departed, leaving Cloudy Quartz standing there alone in the doorway as she watched them walk slowly down the dirt road. Cloudy Quartz felt as if she was about to cry, but she held back the urge and tried to remain strong.

After a while, she finally shut the door and decided to head upstairs to wake Pinkie Pie. She had been sleeping all morning. Besides they had to get ready to start fixing the bakery up. Cloudy Quartz knew that she had been inactive long enough, now it was time to move on. Pinkie Pie and her couldn't sit around sulking in the bakery forever. When Cloudy Quartz finally reached Pinkie Pie's room she knocked rather softly.

"Pinkamena dear, are you awake?" There was no answer. Cloudy Quartz then ventured to peek open the door when she saw that Pinkie was not in her bed. Cloudy Quartz then just happened to glance at the desk next to her bed. There was a note on top of it.

Pinkie Pie trudged along awkwardly while trying to carry the big sack that was on her back. It was almost as bad as the rocks that she used to carry when she worked on the rock farm. Pinkie Pie thought about the possibility of going back to her old home, but then decided against it. She realized early on that she could never earn her father's love, no matter what she did. She didn't really know where she was going. All she knew was that she was leaving. Leaving the bakery. Leaving Mother. Leaving old dreams.

Pinkie Pie didn't really have much time to prepare for the journey, she just grabbed all of her belongings and threw them in the sack. She had to be careful as to not wake the rest of the household. Pinkie wished that she could have said goodbye to her mother and sisters, but she couldn't risk them trying to stop her. Her decision had been made. The family would be better off without her. Getting rid of Limestone was a mistake, and she knew that now.

And so, Pinkie Pie walked slowly down the dusty road that led outside of Ponyville, the quiet little town that had been her home for the past month or so. Pinkie's heart was troubled, but she had to keep going. She couldn't go back. There was nothing left for her back at the bakery. Pinkie knew that if she had stayed, she would have made things worse. Besides, she would find a new life. Somewhere out there.

"Hey you!" The voice startled Pinkie and she almost fell over under the weight of the sack. She turned around but there was no one there. She turned round and round searching for this mysterious voice.

"Up here!" Pinkie Pie looked up to see a Pegasus filly with a light blue coat and a rainbow-colored mane flying above her head.

"Who are you?" Pinkie Pie asked, rather stunned by the look of this new pony. The little filly flew swiftly down and landed on the ground in front of Pinkie Pie.

"My name is Rainbow Dash. The fastest Pegasus to come out of Cloudsdale!" The rainbow-colored filly spoke with such confidence in her voice that Pinkie Pie began to feel a little nervous. "Well maybe I'm not the fastest now, but just wait until I've grown up. Then I'll be the fastest there is." Pinkie Pie didn't quite know what to say to this strange new filly, so she kept silent.

"So anyway, what's your name kid?" Rainbow Dash asked nudging Pinkie Pie.

"Um...my name is Pinkie Pie." Pinkie said, hesitating at first. Rainbow Dash then gave a confused look.

"Sheesh, what's got you so down? I've never seen a pony as unhappy as you before." This last comment didn't exactly make Pinkie Pie feel any more comfortable so she remained silent. Rainbow Dash then noticed the big sack that Pinkie had on her back. "Are you going somewhere?" Pinkie Pie's head perked up when the question came.

"Oh this?" Pinkie Pie said turning around to look at the sack. "I'm running away from home."

"Oh...I see..." Rainbow Dash said, slowly realizing the situation. She thought for a bit and finally said. "Hey, you wanna go do something?" The sudden proposal shocked Pinkie and she hesitated.

"Well, I don't know..."

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Rainbow Dash said, excitedly as she quickly ran off into the large green field that was next to the road. Pinkie Pie thought for a bit, and then slowly removed the big sack on her back and followed after the rainbow-colored filly. It took a while before Pinkie Pie caught up to Rainbow Dash and was out of breath.

"So...what are we gonna do?" Pinkie Pie asked, breathing heavily.

"We're gonna go flying in the clouds!" Rainbow Dash shouted confidently. Pinkie Pie was stunned.

"B-but...I can't fly."

"No, no, I'll do the flying. You can ride on my back!" This confused Pinkie Pie and she became doubtful.

"I don't know, won't I be too heavy for you?"

"Hey, I'm stronger than I look. Now come on and have some fun for once!" Rainbow Dash then offered to let Pinkie Pie hop on her back. Pinkie hesitated, but then let her guard down and carefully climbed onto Rainbow's back. To Pinkie's surprise Rainbow did not falter under her weight. Pinkie then became excited.

"You ready?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie said, letting out a little giggle. And with that Rainbow Dash launched into the air with Pinkie Pie riding on her back. Pinkie Pie felt herself giggling and laughing, which was something that she rarely did anymore. Pinkie hadn't felt this happy in a very long time. Rainbow Dash soared through the clouds, and even went up above them for a moment, and then dove back down, which gave Pinkie Pie a rush. Rainbow Dash was so caught up in her flying that she was almost tempted to do some air tricks, but then remembered her friend on her back.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie flew around in the skies for quite sometime, until Rainbow Dash saw a little hill for them to rest on. When Rainbow Dash finally landed, she could still hear Pinkie Pie on her back laughing. Pinkie Pie rolled off of Rainbow Dash's back and wiggled on the ground giggling. It seemed as if she could not stop. When Rainbow Dash got another look at the dark pink filly, she noticed that her mane and tail, which had previously been straight and stringy, was now fluffy and bright pink like cotton candy. She also noticed that her friend's coat color had changed too. It was no longer dark and dreary, but was now bright light pink. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but to start laughing right along with Pinkie. They finally managed to calm down, and rest side by side on the little hill side.

"Thank you so much for that ride Dashie! That was so much fun!" Pinkie said, smiling.

"Dashie?" Rainbow Dash said, perking her head up. Pinkie Pie then felt nervous.

"I'm sorry, do you not want to be called that?" Pinkie said, timidly.

"Nah, its fine. Its just that's what my parents sometimes call me." Rainbow Dash said laying her head back down on the grass. The two fillies sat silent for a moment before Rainbow Dash broke the silence.

"So Pinkie, why did you decide to run away from home?" Pinkie Pie then suddenly remembered all of the negative circumstances that brought her to this point, and she became more reserved.

"Well, you see..." Pinkie Pie hesitated. "Its just that...I think my family would be better off without me..." Rainbow Dash's head shot up upon hearing the statement.

"What? Are you crazy? Why would you think something like that." Pinkie Pie hung her head feeling slightly guilty about what she had just said.

"I just seem to cause nothing but trouble for them. So I thought it would be best if I ran away and started over somewhere else." Rainbow Dash studied the bright pink filly with curious eyes and then finally spoke up.

"Let me ask you this Pinkie Pie, do you have any dreams?" This statement from her new friend puzzled Pinkie.

"What do you mean?"

"You know a dream. Something that you strive to be or something you wish to do. Kinda like your highest goal. For example, my dream is to one day be the fastest Pegasus in all of Equestria." Pinkie Pie then began to see the sparkle in Rainbow Dash's eyes as she spoke. "And when I grow up, I want to get the opportunity to join the Wonderbolts, the fastest flyers in all of Equestria, and then I'll be able to soar above the heavens with my heroes!" Rainbow Dash had to stand up for the sheer magnitude of this final proclamation, and she sat back down in the grass after she was finished.

"Now it's your turn. What is your dream?" Pinkie pondered the question for a minute, and then remembered something that she had forgotten. She had forgotten the promise that she had made to herself about becoming the perfect baker. She had forgotten the whole reason why she wanted to be a perfect baker. She wanted to gain her Mother's love and trust.

"I guess...if I had to choose a dream, it would be to become a perfect baker..." Immediately after Pinkie Pie let the words out, Rainbow Dash nudged her.

"Well there you go! Now you know where you want to go and who you want to be! Come to think of it, I think a new family just recently moved into the old Ponyville bakery. Maybe you can learn how to bake there."

"Well actually..." Pinkie Pie hesitated. "That's actually my family. They bought the bakery..." Rainbow Dash was shocked.

"Wait, so you're running away from the one place where you can actually make your dream come true?" Pinkie Pie blushed in embarrassment. Rainbow Dash then sighed with frustration.

"I just don't understand why you just can't work things out with your family and go back home. Because trust me Pinkie, running away is not the option." Rainbow Dash was now lying back down on the grass again as she spoke.

"Yes, but I can't go back home...I just can't..." Pinkie Pie sighed as she said this. Rainbow Dash perked back up again.

"Look, I don't know what happened to make you run away from home okay, but I do know this..." Rainbow Dash paused to make direct eye contact with Pinkie. "Nothing ever good happens to those who run away from their problems. More than likely those problems will just follow you wherever you go. I learned that the best way to deal with your problems is to just confront them head on." Pinkie Pie then quickly began to feel comforted and relieved by Rainbow Dash's words.

"Listen Pinkie Pie, if your dream is to become a perfect baker, then you've gotta tackle the problems that come with that dream; whether you like it or not. You gotta ask yourself: 'Is dealing with all of these troubles worth going through to get to my dream?' I would say: Yes." Pinkie Pie listened carefully and then sat silent for a moment to process everything that she was just told. Dashie was right. She couldn't just run away from her problems anymore. Pinkie Pie knew what she had to do now.

"Thank you Dashie, you have no idea how much you've helped me." Pinkie Pie then gave a warm hug as she wrapped her arms around Rainbow Dash.

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Rainbow Dash jokingly said as she let go of Pinkie Pie. Before Pinkie ran off to go back home, she stopped herself and turned around to face Rainbow Dash.

"Hey Dashie! When we open up the bakery, stop by and see me okay!" Rainbow Dash nodded and said.

"You can count on it!" And with that, Pinkie Pie ran down the hill as fast as she could, with the wind blowing through her freshly puffed up mane. Pinkie Pie didn't even bother to pick up the sack she had left on the road. She just kept running as fast as she could to get back home. Back to the bakery. Back to her Mother. Back to her dreams.

Cloudy Quartz in a great panic had searched frantically around Ponyville to find Pinkamena. She couldn't stand the thought of losing another daughter. She refused to let it happen again. After she had searched the whole village, Cloudy Quartz finally went back to the bakery in sorrow, and just as she opened the front door to step inside, their was Pinkamena Diane Pie, standing in the middle of the bakery. Cloudy Quartz rushed to her and began to hug her while crying profusely.

"Pinkamena Diane Pie! How could you do this to me!" Pinkie Pie felt great shame and regret of causing her Mother so much grief and pain. But now was the time to stop causing trouble. Now was the time to except her dream and to face her problems head on.

"Mom..." Cloudy Quartz stopped hugging Pinkie to look at her. "I'm sorry about what happened to Limestone. I just want to make things better for me and you..." Pinkie Pie then began to sob as Cloudy Quartz held her youngest daughter tight to her bosom.

"Don't you worry Pinkamena, everything is going to be fine now. You're home safe and that's all that matters." And there the two of them sat. Mother and daughter together. Holding on tight to one another, not letting go.